Fiercer than a Legendary
by The Shiny Gengar
Summary: What's the only thing scarier than seeing an angry Legendary Pokémon? May and Dawn in a fierce conflict over Ash. Things could get rough for our hero as he travels through Johto to beat the new Battle Frontier and defeat Team Rocket. Advanceshipping
1. Chapter 1: Just the Begining

**Chapter One: Just the Beginning******

-****

**So this is my first fanfic ever, so go easy on me this time. What makes it harder is that I'll be writing this on the notes app on my iPod Touch. I'll try my best, hope you guys like this, Rate and Review!******

**NOTES: This story will be told in first person, from several different people's POV (Mostly May's), which will be noted before each section. Also, This takes place after Ash's journey through Unova. I'm also keeping Ash, Dawn, and May 10 years old.******

**Oh, yeah, and I don't own Pokémon. But it would be awesome if I did.**

**~(o'-'o)~**

**May's POV**

I stood on the deck, leaning against the railing. Below me were the waves, crashing noisily against the boat. I sighed and took a deep breath, focusing on the sunset before me.

I was nervous, more nervous than before any contest. Sure, I was just going to on a pleasant visit to see my old friend, Ash Ketchum. Why should I feel nervous? We were friends, we could tell each other anything. But I felt like what we had might be more than just a friendship.

I had just finished my long hard journey through Johto. Where I had participated in the Johto Grand Festival. I had managed to get runner up, being defeated once again be Solidad.

But this time around, I had no one to really go to after my loss, Max, Ash, and Brock had always been there for me, but not this time around.

Harley just made things worse, making me feel miserable about losing. I must of cried the rest of the day.

Now here I am, riding the ferry toward the hometown of the boy who makes my heart tingle. I ignored the feelings for a long time, thinking it was just something childish and immature. But after I lost the Grand Festival, I realized that I needed Ash, that had feelings for him, that I... Love him...

I glanced at the half ribbon sitting in my hand, the ribbon that me and Ash split after tying in a contest. I closed my eyes, holding the ribbon tightly. But was it possible that he would have the same feelings towards me? Even if he did, he would be too dense to realize it.

I laughed softly, but it quickly disappeared, last I saw Ash, he was traveling with Dawn, he might of fallen for her, or some other girl. I held my ribbon even tighter

"Only one way to find out." I said out loud. 

**~(o'-'o)~**

**Ash's POV****  
><strong>  
>"Look Pikachu! I can see the house!" I said excitedly.<p>

"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu replied, showing he shared my excitement.

"No point in making Mom wait any longer!" I told him, breaking into a run. Pikachu nearly fell off my shoulder, and was now clinging on for dear life.

I came to a screeching halt as I approached the front door. I turned the knob and quickly threw the door open. As I entered the house, I could smell the wonderful aroma of some of my favorite meals cooking.

"Mom! I'm home!" I said, throwing off my shoes.

"PikaPika!" Pikachu said, hopping off my shoulder, he quickly ran into the kitchen. I followed after him, but before I could even step into the kitchen, Mom threw her arms around me, Pikachu was sitting on her shoulder.

"Ash, I've missed you so much!" She said, get voice already starting to crack.

"Yeah, and I've missed you too, Mom." I said, "boy you won't believe some of the adventures I've had on this last trip!" I said trying to change the subject.

"Why don't we talk about that over dinner, dear?" she said. "I'm still cooking it, why don't you go over to Professor Oak's Lab and visit you Pokémon?"

"Sounds great, I'll go drop off my other Pokémon too!" I said, racing out the door, Pikachu hot on my heels.

"Boy, I can't wait to see how much My Pokémon have grown!" I said to Pikachu as he climbed up me, and sat on my shoulder.

"PikaPika!" He said with a big smile on his face. We approached the Lab and knocked on the door, soon after, a tall boy with a bandana around his head opened the door.

"Hey Ash! Hello Pikachu!" He said.

"Hey Tracy, it's been awhile, how are things going at the around here?" I asked.

"Pretty good, but I've notice your Gible and Totodile have been pretty restless lately. I can tell that they miss you." He said.

"Oh, hey, were's Professor Oak?" I asked, looking around.

"He and Gary went to Johto, saying that he was on the breakthrough of something big!" Tracy said.

"Sounds cool, hey, I'm gonna go check on my Pokémon, okay?" I told him.

"Okay, take your time." Tracy said, turning around and walking away.

"You ready Pikachu?" I asked with an uneasy voice. My Pokémon were known for getting extremely excited about seeing me.

"Pika!" Pikachu replied confidently.

I walked out onto the huge ranch, where thousands of different Pokémon lived. As soon as I stepped out the ground began to shake, a cloud of dust emerged from over a nearby hill, all my Pokémon coming straight at me.

"Alright you guys settle down!" I yelled as they got closer, but there was no point, it was like trying to stop and avalanche. Pikachu jumped off my shoulder to evade the attack. My Pokémon picked me up and carried me off. But they eventually settled down, and I was able to get off the Tauros that had picked me up. Before I could even turn around, two hands covered my eyes.

"Guess who?" a voice said.

"Pikaka!" I heard Pikachu say.

I ducked out of the persons grasp, and turned around to face:

"Dawn! What are you doing here?" I was a bit shocked, I never excepted to see her here.

"I'm visited my old friends." she said cheerfully, a big grin on her face.

Pikachu climbed back up on my shoulder, "So why didn't you show up earlier?" I asked.

"I didn't want to be attacked by your Pokémon as well." she said plainly.

I was about to say something, but I felt a mouth gently bite my head.

"Gible!" the thing biting my head exclaimed. I felt something crawl onto the shoulder opposite of the one Pikachu was perched on.

"Totodile!" I heard the little blue alligator on my shoulder say.

"Hey Gible! Hey Totodile! How have you guys been?" I asked them.

"Gib!"

"Tot!"

"I heard that you both have missed me a lot lately, hu?" I asked, they both shook their heads glumly.

"How about I take you guys on my next adventure? I don't plan on sticking around too long." I said. Both of they faces lit up with smiles, as they agreed.

I let out all my Pokémon from Unova, and introduced them to my other Pokémon, after that, me, Dawn, and Pikachu headed home.


	2. Chapter 2: The Rivalry Begins

**Chapter Two: The Rivalry Begins**

**Because I already wrote this, I'm posting this as well as chapter one, because I feel like it. This ones a bit longer, hope you like, R&R**

**I don't own Pokemon…**

**~(o'-'o)~**

**Dawn's POV**

I stared at the young Pokémon trainer. After all of the adventures we shared with Brock, I believed that we would be inseparable, but our paths did split. And ever since then, I had felt like there was a hole, something missing, a part of me had left when we parted, but now that I was back with Ash, I felt that wholeness again. I realized that he was important to me, more than just a friend, I loved him.

I wasn't the first girl he traveled with though, he had gone through many adventures with Misty and May. Although I had nothing against them, they felt like a threat, someone who could take what I felt was mine.

I wanted to show Ash how much I cared about him, but what if he didn't feel the same way? Even if he did feel the same towards me, he would be too dense to realize it.

My thoughts brought out a small chuckle...

"What's so funny, Dawn?" Ash asked, breaking my train of thought.

"Oh, n-n-nothing..." I stammered. He and Pikachu exchanged glances.

"If you say so..." he stated, creating an awkward silence.

"So Ash," I began "Did you meet anybody interesting during your travels through Unova?"

"Yeah, I met plenty of people, but I met these two people named Cilan and Iris, they traveled with me through Unova and really helped me out, right Pikachu?" Ash said.

"Pipipikachu!" the electric mouse yelled.

"Were you and the Iris close?" I asked, expecting the worst.

"Well we traveled with though all of Unova together with Cilan, so yeah, I guess we were close." he said.

I sighed, he didn't get the real meaning of my question, typical dense Ash. I figured that I shouldn't worry, from what it sounded like, Iris wouldn't get in the way.

We finally made it to Ash's house, you could smell the delicious foods cooking from outside. We both quickly came through the front door.

"Mom! I'm back! Come look at who I brought with me!" Ash yelled. Ash's mother peeked around the corner.

"Oh! Hello Dawn! Good to see you!" Ms. Ketchum said with a grin on her face. "why don't you three come on in, I just finished cooking dinner."

Ash threw his backpack on the ground, and a couple things flew out of it.

"Woops!" He said, picking up the things that fell out of his backpack.

**~(o'-'o)~**

**Brief Third Person****  
><strong>  
>What neither Ash or Dawn realized, was that a small half of a ribbon slid underneath the couch after it had fallen out of Ash's backpack.<p>

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Dawn's POV**

We sat down, Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder and plopped himself in front of his bowl of Pokémon food and a bottle of Ketchup, which he immediately began to enjoy.

Ash gobbled down his food while talking about all the amazing things he did in Unova. Me and his mother sat and listened, amazed by all the adventures he had experienced.

After dinner, we went upstairs to wash up, Ash started down the stairs with Pikachu, I was right behind him, without even thinking, I jumped into the air. As Ash jumped off the last step and hit the floor, I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his torso, like he was giving me a piggyback ride, but backpack style.

Ash tumbled forward a little when I grabbed him, but he quickly caught himself. He stood frozen, like he didn't know what to do next. Pikachu hopped off from his shoulder, onto mine, and then leaped on my head, where he made himself more comfortable.

Ash suddenly took off, and started running around the house as fast as he could, occasionally taking sharp turns.

"Piiiiikaaaaa!" Pikachu yelled, obviously enjoying the ride.

"S-s-stop Ash! You're going too fast!" I yelled! Almost immediately after, the doorbell rang. Ash came to a sudden halt.

"I'll get it!" he yelled as he ran up the door, still carrying me. He grabbed the doorknob and opened the door.

"No!" I thought, "it can't be!"

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

The ferry finally docked, I hopped of the boat and started making my way towards the Ketchum Residence.

"I wonder if Ash has changed much..." I said out loud, thinking to myself. "No, he's probably still the same, stubborn, determined, dense, handsome 10 year old I remember him to be."

I approached the house, the butterfrees were flutter in my stomach like crazy. I stood at the door, trying to suck up enough nerves to ring the bell. I suddenly heard commotion in the house.

"S-s-stop Ash! You're going too fast!" some yelled playfully.

Without another second of hesitation, I smashed down on the doorbell, I heard the ringing noise from inside.

"I'll get it!" someone else yelled. The doorknob began to jiggle, and quickly turned, the door opened up, and what I saw made me extremely jealous. Pikachu was sitting on Dawn's head, and Dawn was riding on Ash backpack style. From the look on Dawns face, I could tell she seemed annoyed about me being here.

"Hey May!" Ash said in his normal cheerful mood. "What brings you here?" Dawn let go of Ash, hopping off his back. Pikachu jumped off of Dawns head, back onto Ash's shoulder, a wide grin on his face.

"Oh, I just finished up at the Grand Festival, so I thought I would come by and visit for a few days, if you don't mind of course." I stated.

It looked like Dawn was about to object, but was interrupted by Ash, "Of course we don't mind. I'm gonna go tell Mom that you're here." He walked out of the room, leaving just me and Dawn together.

Dawn gave me a glare, which I didn't understand, what would she have against me?

"May, don't you have family in Hoenn to see?" It sounded more like a statement than a question.

"Yeah, but it's been a long time since I've seen Ash and Pikachu, I have to visit occasionally. And..." my voice trailed off, I didn't think I should tell Dawn about my real feelings towards Ash.

"And...?" Dawn asked, trying to get me to finish.

"Never mind..." I said, putting on a smile. Just in time, Ash and his mother stepped into the room.

"May! What a wonderful surprise!" Ms. Ketchum said. "If you're planning on sticking around you'll have to share the guest room with Dawn."

Although the idea didn't appeal to me, and from the looks if it Dawn didn't like it either, I figured that I would be able to handle it for now.

"Thanks, that'll be fine." I said cheerfully. Ms. Ketchum smiled back before walking out of the room.

"So May, how did you do in the Grand Festival?" Ash asked, starting up a conversation.

I sighed "Solidad beat me again in the final round." I said gloomily, head hanging low, I felt a sudden depression hit me "Sorry that I let you down..."

Ash had a shocked look on his face, "What do you mean 'I let you down'" Ash said, then a big grin spread across his face "Runner up is fantastic, May!"

He gently grabbed my shoulders, looked me straight in the eyes, just like he did on while we trapped on that island on the way to Pacifidlog Town. "May, you should be happy with what you achieved. You should be proud of your Pokémon and all the hard work they put in the get you this far, runner up is an amazing accomplishment! I'm proud of you, and Pikachu is too right buddy?"

"Pi Pikachu!" The yellow rodent squealed.

"Dawn, you're proud of May, aren't you?" Ash asked. Dawn didn't look at either of us, and only nodded her head.

"See May? You did fantastic, and I'm sure Brock and Max would say the same if they were here." Ash said, his big grin never leaving his face.

I he made me feel warm inside "Thanks Ash," I said, "I really needed someone to tell me that." The fact that he told me that personally made it even more special. I was about to embrace him, but Dawn interrupted.

"Hey Ash! How about a Pokémon battle?" She said quickly, obviously trying to change the subject. It worked pretty well, because Ash got all excited.

"All right! Sounds great!" he ran out the house, Pikachu clinging to his shoulder tightly, me and Dawn followed him. I quickly realized that we were headed toward the lab.

"Ash! What are you doing?" I called out, having a hard time keeping up with him. He didn't seem to hear me though, so I just sighed and kept on running. At last we reached the lab.

"Hey Tracy!" Ash called out.

The tall boy appeared from behind a closed door. "Hey Ash, I didn't know May was here." Tracy said as he walked out.

"She just got here." Ash said. "So Tracy, would be interested in participating in a double battle?"

"Wait! What?" Dawn said. "I thought that we were just gonna have a one on one battle..."

"Well, we can't exclude May, unless she doesn't want to battle." Ash said giving me a questioning look.

"I'd like to battle." I said, hoping I could show Ash some of the things I learned. Dawn mumbled something under her breath

"Great! So we can have a tag battle, boys verses girls. Sound fair?" Ash said, everyone nodded.

"Awesome. I'm gonna go get Gible and Totodile. I'm sure they would love to battle."  
><strong><br>****~(o'-'o)~**

******Ash's POV**

Me and Tracy had come up with our strategy, I turned to see if Dawn and May were ready, but it appeared that there might of been some disagreement between them. That was their problem though, not mine.

After sometime they finally were ready, Dawn's face was red, May looked normal.

"Okay, so this is a tag battle like I said before, each trainer can use two Pokémon. When one team has no more Pokémon to use for battle, the match is over, got it?" I said, making use I was clear.

"Got it." everyone else said.

"Buneary, Spotlight!" Dawn said, releasing the brown rabbit.

"Marill, come on out!" Tracy said, The Aqua Mouse Pokémon appeared out of it's ball.

"Blaziken, take the stage" May yelled. The fighting Fire type entered.

"Totodile! I choose you!" I said

"Totodile!" it yelled happily as it began to dance

"Ladies first," Tracy said, me and Pikachu rolled our eyes.

"Blaziken, use Mega Kick on Totodile!" May said.

"Dizzy Punch on Marill!" Dawn said.

"Use water gun to stop that dizzy punch!" Tracy said.

Marill shot a blast of water at Buneary, but Buneary still made contact. Marill stood dazed and dizzy.

"Totodile, dodge Blaziken and protect Marill!" I said. Tracy was trying to get Marill back into the battle. Totodile boldly jump away from Blaziken and stood in front of Marill. Shooting water guns at Buneary if she came too close.

"Buneary, use bounce!" Dawn commanded, Buneary shot into the air, Totodile was ready to defend. But Buneary didn't smash into Totodile, she landed next to him.

"Dizzy Punch!" Dawn said, Totodile was caught off guard, and flew acrosses the stage. Both mine and Tracy's Pokémon were dizzy and confused.

"Blaziken, Use Over Heat!" May yelled. Blaziken shot a bright beam at Marill.

But then the accident occurred, Buneary was in the line of fire, and got caught in Blaziken's over heat. Marill snapped out of his confusion, and jumped out the way of overheat just in time.

"WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FOR?" Dawn yelled right into Mays face.

"I didn't mean to, besides maybe if your dumb Buneary hadn't been so stupid as to stand in the way, that wouldn't of happened." May said, obviously starting to lose her cool.

"HOW DARE YOU INSULT MY POKÉMON!" Dawn was screaming now.

During this argument, Totodile had snapped out of confusion. Me and Tracy just nodded to each other.

"Totodile!" I called.

"Marill!" Tracy shouted

"Use watergun!" we shouted in union.

Both Pokémon shot powerful jets of water at Blaziken, the move was super effective, and Blaziken was knocked out.

"Serves you right..." Dawn stated, Folding her arms and turning away from May. May called back her Pokémon.

"Venusaur! Come on out!" May said.

Dawn turned around shocked, "That wasn't part of the plan!" she stated.

"Screw our plan! You're on your own now!" May said. "Use Solar Beam on Totodile."

The beam shot out and hit Totodile before it could dodge, knocking it out.

"Totodile, return!" I said recalling it. "You did awesome out there! Great job!" I pulled out my other Pokéball.

"Alright Gible! Let's wrap this up!" I shouted as Gible appered.

"Gible!" he shouted.

"Alright Marill, use Water Gun on Buneary!" Tracy said.

"Buneary! Get behind Venusaur!" Dawn yelled. Buneary obeyed, Venusaur took the full blow of the blast.

"Dawn! You're gonna pay! Venusaur, vine whip on Buneary!" May commanded angrily. Venusaur had a shocked look on her face, but none the less snapped it's powerful vines at Buneary, knocking her out.

"Great May! Now we hardly have a chance!" Dawn stated in an angry tone. "Help me out, Piplup!"

The blue penguin appeared, ready to battle, but it wasn't looking at Gible or Marill, its angry eyes were glued to Venusaur.

"Hydro Pump!" Dawn ordered. Piplup shot the powerful attack at Venusaur. But The attack didn't do much...

May giggled, "Don't you know grass types have an advantage over water types?"

Dawn started to shout "WELL THANK YOU MISS-"

"Gible, give us your best Draco meteor!" I shouted, tired of the arguing.

Dawn and May froze, starring at Gible

"Giiiiiiiii-BLE!" he shot a red orb into the sky. Meteors began to fall from the sky. The attack created a huge cloud of dust, when it settled, it was obvious that Piplup and Venusaur were knocked out. Dawn returned Piplup, her face completely red, May stood there shocked in disbelief.

"P-p-powerful..." was all she could say. Seeing he had won, Gible jumped up and chomped down on my head.

"Youch! hehe, you did awesome Gible." I said.

"Gible Gib!" Gible replied. I returned him to his Pokéball. Tracy also returned Marill to Pokéball.

"Thanks for the help, Tracy!" I said, "Would you mind taking my Pokémon back to the lab with you?" I asked.

"Sure, no problem!" Tracy said as he took the Pokéballs. He turned around and headed to the lab.

May and Dawn would not even look at each other. I sighed, hopefully they would get over it by tomorrow, and be their normal perky selves.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Brief Third Person**

While Ash and his friends were out having their battle, Ms. Ketchum was throughly sweeping the floor, occasionally taking the dust pan and dumping the junk she collected in the trash, what she didn't notice was a small half ribbon that she swept up from under the couch. The half ribbon went into the trash can like everything else she had swept up.

**~(o'-'o)~**

**Try to remember the last part when you read the next chapter… that's all I will say.**

**BTW: Got ideas for the story? Send them to me!**


	3. Chapter 3: You Know This Mean War

**Chapter Three: Of Course You Know This Means War**

**There's nothing I love more than coming up with dumb titles, unfortunately, I'll think of a better one, in a few hours…**

**I couldn't help but constantly shake my head as I wrote this…** **Plus, I'm gonna start writing longer chapters. Why? Because the short chapters depress me.**

**I don't own Pokémon, this also depresses me…**

**~(o'-'o)~**

**May's POV**

Me and Dawn were in the guest room, getting ready to go to bed, we barely said a word to each other. I figured I should at least try to fix things.

"Dawn, I'm sorry about what happened back during the battle, I just lost my cool, we should of gotten along and continued with the plan." I said, turning around to face her.

She didn't even turn around, she just huffed and marched to the bathroom to brush her teeth. I started to get a bit irritated. When she came back, I tried to apologize again, but she completely ignored me, pretending I wasn't there. Now I was a bit angry.

"What's your problem?" I asked. "Ever since I arrived, you treated me like crap! Why are acting like such an obnoxious idiot?" I started raising my voice.

"Your the problem..." Dawn said simply.

"How am I the problem?" I asked sternly.

"Your... YOUR GETTING IN THE WAY!"

"OH YEAH? IN THE WAY OF WHAT?"

"IN THE WAY OF ME BEING WITH ASH!" then there was an awkward silence. We both just glared into each others eyes. Then suddenly it clicked, I wasn't the only one who had fell in love with Ash, she had to. Unfortunately, my temper got the best of me.

"SO YOU'VE TREATING ME LIKE DIRT BECAUSE YOU HAVE A SILLY, DUMB LITTLE CRUSH ON SOMEONE?" I exclaimed.

Dawn grew red with anger as well. "IT'S MORE THAN JUST A CRUSH YOU DIRTY SLUT! WHY DON'T YOU AND YOUR POKÉMON JUMP OFF A CLIFF!"

That did it "HOW DARE YOU!" shouted, I slapped her as hard as I could, she spun 360 degrees before falling backwards onto her bed.

"May?" my heart jumped. I turned to face the door, Ash was standing there, with an angry and sad expression across his face.

"Can I have a word with you?" he asked in a very serious tone, I slowly nodded, and followed him into his room. I could tell this was gonna be a dead serious talk, because he even asked Pikachu to leave the room.

I sat down on the bed, my head hanging low. I could feel Ash staring at me.

"What in the name of Arcus was going on in there?" Ash asked, he sounded quite angry.

"That's none of your business!" I said, unintentionally angry.

"None of my business? The heck it is! I walk into a room and find one of my best friends slapping my other best friend, in my house! Now tell what is going on!" He was pretty steamed now, I was still mad from that outburst with Dawn

"OH YEAH? YOU'RE NOT MY DAD! YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO! YOU'RE IMPOSSIBLE ASH KETCHUM! I HATE YOU! GO AWAY YOU SON OF A-" The door slammed shut. I realize how big of a fool I had made myself look, how stupid I had been. I threw myself on Ash's bed and started crying. I was alone, there was no one I could turn to for comfort, at least that was what I thought.

I heard a sad "Pika." I looked up, Pikachu was standing on the bed next to me, a sad look in his eyes. I grabbed him and hugged him tightly, he didn't resist, he never struggled. He stayed there with me. I got up out of Ash's bed and walked quietly into my bedroom, Pikachu still in my arms. I laid down and quickly fell asleep.

**~(o'-'o)~**

**May's POV**

The four of us returned to the field we previously battled on, Me, Ash, Dawn, and Pikachu. This time we weren't there for a battle, we came for a picnic. I noticed as we made our way to the field Ash and Dawn were holding hands.

I was carrying everything for some reason; I spread out the blanket, and started preparing the food. Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder and stretched out on the grass. Ash and Dawn were looking deeply into each others eyes.

"Ash, I love you." Dawn said, her voice was full of confidence.

"I love you too Dawn," Ash replied. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I felt a sudden despair and emptiness in me.

"Wha-what about me?" I stuttered, my voice sounded weak and quiet.

Ash turned to face me, "You hurt me the other night May," He said, more than you could ever realize, you should go, before you hurt anyone else."

"But..." I started, but stopped as Ash and Dawn shared a long passionate kiss. I began to cry, tears rolling down my cheeks like a waterfall. Ash and Dawn turned to face me, Ash looked angry, Dawn had a cruel smirk on her face.

"May, I thought I told you to leave." Ash stated, "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on May to send her blasting off like Team Rocket!"

"Piiiiiiiiikaaaaa" Pikachu began to charge up.

"Ash, please wait!" I screamed.

"CHUUUUUU!"

And then it ended.

I woke up in the bed I had fell asleep in, Pikachu gently sending a electricity through my body to wake me up. He had a concerned look on his face.

"Oh, it was just a dream..." I said, relieved. I got up and went into the bathroom, my eyes were red and cheeks were wet.

I washed up a little bit trying to make it look like I was fine. I grabbed a tissue and blew my nose as i walked down stairs. As I threw the tissue in the trash, something caught my eye. I looked back into the trashcan. To my horror, Ash's half of a ribbon laid in the trash.

That was too much, the tears came again, I grabbed the half of a ribbon from the trash and ran upstairs. I barged into Ash's room without any warning, he appeared to be looking for something, but jumped a little as I raced in.

"Please Ash! Please forgive me! I didn't mean to hurt your feelings that bad." I wrapped my arms around him tightly, and rested my head on his shoulder, where I sobbed.

"I don't want our friendship to end..." I said softly. I felt him loosely wrap his arms around me.

"What are you talked about, May?" he asked obviously confused. I lifted my head and held the half ribbon to his face.

"I found this in the trash! The symbol of our friendship tossed in the trash like a piece of garbage." I said softly.

Ash let go of me and took the ribbon from my hand. "You found this in the trash?" he asked. I simply nodded.

"May, I would never throw this away, I don't know how it got there but I've been looking for it all morning, I felt bad after our little argument." he said. I embraced him again.

"Thank you, Ash." was all I could say.

**~(o'-'o)~**

**May's POV****  
><strong>  
>After that whole misunderstanding, I took a quick shower, feeling refreshed and relieved.<p>

I walked downstairs and saw a note with my name written on it on the table. I picked it up and read it.

"Dear May,

Meet me at the field were we had our tag battle around 11:00.

Ash"

I looked at the clock, it was about 10:45.

"Better start making my way there," I told myself cheerfully.

I made my way to the hill, wondering why Ash would want to see me.

I reached the field, And I checked my PokéNav, it was 10:55.

"Nobody's here," I said to myself, "Maybe Ash is planning to appear at the last minute..." I sat down and wrapped my arms around my legs, resting my head on my knees. I continued to sit there for a while. I checked the PokéNav again and saw that it was 11:10.

"He's late..." I said to myself, stating the obvious. I sat there for another 15 minutes, but Ash never came. Did he forget? Did he not really care?

I gasped.

Was this a trick?

I ran back to the Ketchum house and found Ms. Ketchum starting to make lunch.

"Hey Ms. Ketchum?" I asked.

"Yes May?" she replied.

"Would you happen to know where Ash is?"

"Dawn dragged him out of the house for a walk." She states, giggling a little, "She seemed to be in a hurry."

"That little bitch..." I thought to myself...

~(o'_'o)~

Dawn's POV

"I hope that little trick I pulled buys me enough time" I mumbled to myself.

"Did you say something Dawn?" Both Ash and Pikachu giving me slightly odd looks. I snapped out of my trance and smiled at Ash.

"Oh, I was just wondering where you were planning on going next..." I replied, trying to cover up my little comment.

"I don't know actually Dawn." Ash said glumly. "There aren't any other regions that I know of to go to at the moment."

"Pika..." Pikachu stated, also a little depressed.

"You could come with me as I go through Kanto!" I stated cheerfully.

"You're gonna go through Kanto?" Ash asked.

"Yep! I haven't participated in any contest here yet, so why not?" I stated. I knew May had already gone through Kanto, so she probably wouldn't be interested in joining us.

"But what's there for me?" Ash asked. "I've already gotten my badges here, and I beat the Battle Frontier..." He voice drifted off. I suddenly hugged him. Ash stiffened a little as we stopped walking.

"But wouldn't you like to travel with an old friend." I stated, sounding a little hurt. Ash relaxed a little bit, so I let him go. He had a smile on his face.

"If nothing else comes up, I'll go with you." he said. "It's not like I have anywhere else to go anyways, right Pikachu?"

"Pikachu!" the Pokémon said, waving both his hands.

I smiled and my face brightened, "Thank you, Ash." I said softly. Suddenly, I heard a footsteps behind us.

"Oh, no!" I thought, "Not right now, it's too soon!" May came running up behind us. We both stopped and turned around to see May bending over breathing heavily.

"Hey... Guys... What's up?" she managed to say between breaths.

"Dawn dragged me and Pikachu along for a walk," Ash said chuckling a little and scratching the back of his head. "And we talked about a few things." he finished.

"Important things?" May stood up, giving me a quick glare before smiling back at Ash. He was about to reply but I interrupted him.

"Nope! Nothing that would concern you!" I lied. May glared at me again, neither Ash or Pikachu seemed to notice.

"Oh is that so?" She asked. "Ash, your mom said that she wanted you home soon for lunch." She said, turning back to Ash., whose face lit up.

"ALRIGHT!" he said jumping into the air with his fist raised high. He then dashed off in the direction we came.

Both me and May just stood there a little shocked. May fell on her knees.

"Ooh..." she whined, "I don't want to run back..."

"Serves you right," I stated coldly. She got up and glared at me again.

"Well I don't appreciate you playing dirty like that and tricking me, making a fool of myself!" she shot back.

"I'll do what I have to if it means I get Ash." I said.

"Oh, bring it on, this is war!" She replied before spinning around and running after Ash, who was now far ahead.

I smirked a little, "Yeah... This is war..."

**~(o'-'o)~**

**May's POV**

After running all the way back to the Ketchum residence, I found Ash sitting at the doorstep with Pikachu, talking about who-knows-what. I fell to the ground on my hands and knees, panting heavily, it felt like my lungs would explode.

"You... Certainly... Haven't... Slowed down... Since I last saw you..." I gasped, looking up at him, I was surprise how close I had fallen to him, our faces were about a foot apart. I looked into his brown eyes, something I had missed a lot since we parted ways. Pikachu jumped on Ash'd shoulder as he stood up. He stretched out his arm giving me his hand, which I gratefully accepted, while trying to hide a blush that grew on my face. He pulled me to my feet before letting go of my hand and looking down the path I had just come up.

"Was Dawn close behind?" he asked, not turning away.

"I wasn't paying attention..." I simply said, trying not to think about what me and her discussed. A rumble came from Ash's stomach, which he grabbed, and moaned a little.

"Mom said, I couldn't start without you guys," he sighed. I giggled, typical Ash, always thinking about food.

We both sat back down on the door step waiting for Dawn. I felt like a should try to start a conversation.

"So how did your travels in Unova go?" I asked.

His face brighten immediately. "Awesome! I saw so many new Pokémon, and caught a bunch too!" he said excitedly, Pikachu also started looking perky. I knew I thought of the right subject, so I continued.

"What Pokémon did you catch?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation going, but also curious.

"Being that Unova is over seas, there a lot of Pokémon that I had never seen before, I doubt you would know any of them." he said.

"Oh," I said, not giving up on the conversation yet, "Did you meet anyone interesting?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, I met tons of new people, and made lots of new friends." he said. "The two closest friends I made there was my two traveling partners, Iris and Cilan."

My heart beat quickened a little, I began to panic a tiny bit, "Were you and Iris close?" I asked. Pikachu gave me an odd look, Ash didn't seem to react.

"Heh, funny. Dawn asked the same thing," he said, I realized why Pikachu gave me that look, a tried changing the subject.

"So what did you and Dawn talk about on your walk?" I asked quickly, Ash was starting to look a little confused.

"Uh, we just talked about were we plan on going next," he said.

"Have you decided?" I asked, but was interrupted by Pikachu.

"Pikaka!" he shouted pointing up the road, were Dawn was calmly making her way towards the house.

"Hey Dawn! Would hurry up? I'm ready to eat!" Ash called out, standing up. Dawn looked over at us, and broke into a jog.

"What to you so long?" Ash asked.

"It's not my fault that you run at the speed of light!" She replied playfully. We all walked into the house.

"Mom! We're all here!" Ash called out to his mother.

"Alright," She replied, "come sit down at the table." we all sat down as we were handed our plates. Pikachu gladly tool a bottle of ketchup from Ms. Ketchum.

We were about half way through our meal when there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" Ms. Ketchum said as she rose from the table. She walked out of the room, after a few minutes reappearing.

"Ash, there's a friend here to see you." She said "Come sit down and join us Scott."

The large man with the blue tropical shirt and glasses walked in. "Thank you very much Ms. Ketchum."

"Hey Scott!" Ash said excitedly, Pikachu looked up from his bottle of ketchup his face lit up.

"Hey Ash, Pikachu, I see that you even got May with you," he said waving, "I don't think I've ever met this young lady though," he stated sticking out his hand to Dawn.

Dawn shook his hand and said "My names Dawn, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"So Scott, what brings you here?" Ash asked.

"Well I just wanted to give you an offer you may be interested in." Scott started. "You see, after the Battle Frontier's success in Kanto, I decided that I should expand it, so I've started it up in Johto as well, it's a whole new challenge!"

"That's awesome!" Ash said, getting so excited he actually stood up, Pikachu dropped his bottle of ketchup, both him and Ash stood with their chest sticking out and fists in the air.

"Ash, what about us going through Kanto together?" Dawn said in a whiney voice.

Ash started to say "Dawn, I told you that-" but I interrupted him.

"Wait, you guys both planned to travel through Kanto together and didn't even tell me?" I said, anger was obvious in my voice.

"May, it's not like that!" Ash replied.

"Well then was it like Ash?" Dawn asked, she sounded a little hurt.

"You keep out of this!" I replied. We both stood up and got into each other's faces. We glared at each other, our heads only a few inches apart, we growled at each other like Poochyenas.

"ENOUGH!" We turned to see Ms. Ketchum, giving us a glare, Ash, Pikachu, and Scott looked like try just saw an enraged Gengar. Ms. Ketchum took a deep breath, obviously trying to calm down.

"I-I-I'm sorry." I stuttered, embarrassed.

"y-yeah, s-sorry" Dawn replied sheepishly.

All three of us sat down, and ate in silence. Ash broke the silence.

"Uh, s-so when should I start?" he asked Scott.

"Anytime you'd like," Scott said standing up, "Now I gotta go, thanks for the meal Ms. Ketchum, it was excellent. See you around Ash." he walked out of the house with a final wave.

"Bye Scott..." Ash said quietly. As the front door gently close, all went silent again.

"H-h-hey Ash," I stuttered...

"Yeah May?"

"I was wondering if you would... Mind... Me traveling with you again." I said, trying to choose my words carefully. I wanted to travel with Ash again, and spend more time with him.

"But May, what about your dream of becoming a top coordinator?" Ash asked, obviously confused.

"Why, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Well, you just went through Johto, right? Wouldn't you want to continue somewhere new?" he asked, everyone was looking at me oddly.

I felt a little hurt "Are you saying you don't want me to come?" I asked, trying to hide the sadness in my voice, but completely failed.

Ash obviously noticed because he started to try to make me feel better "No! Not at all May! I was just thinking about your dream, you're welcome to join us, right Pikachu?"

"PiPikachu!" Pikachu agreed.

"Hey Ash, I was wondering if I could come along too." everybody turned their heads away from me and looked at Dawn, who looked slightly embarrassed.

"But Dawn, you just told me today that you were gonna go through Kanto!" Ash said in surprise.

"Uh... I... Um... Well... You see..." she obviously was having a hard time thinking of an excuse. "Oh what the heck! I want to travel with you again Ash!" everybody was surprised at her honesty.

"Well... If you say so Dawn, you're welcome to come along too." Ash replied.

I rested my head on my hands and sighed. Now I have to travel with that bitch! Hopefully, being with Ash would make it worth it.

**~(o'-'o)~**

**Dawn's POV****  
><strong>  
>Me and May were in our room, packing up our stuff for tomorrow, Ash wanted to leave soon as possible.<p>

"Dawn, we need to have a talk..." May said. And from the tone of her voice, I could tell it wasn't going to be a friendly chat.

I turned around to face her and sat down on my bed, she did the same.

"Dawn..." She started, "It's pretty obvious to see that both of us have feelings for Ash... Strong feelings..."

I simply nodded in agreement.

"Being that we both love him, we want the best for him, and for him to be happy."

I nodded again, I didn't quite understand what she was getting at, but it was true, I wanted the best for Ash.

"So Dawn, I will do everything in my power to be the one who makes him happy, and I'm sure that you will do the same."

"Of course I will," I finally spoke up, "If I didn't, that would mean I don't actually love him."

She nodded, her eyes became a little wet, "Although we may become fierce enemies, lets agree to one thing, that we do make Ash happy." she said weakly, it sounded like she was about to cry.

I just nodded again, my eyes tearing up.

"That means," she said, wiping her eyes, "no matter who wins Ash's heart, the other will let him go completely, and let them be happy together."

I understood completely. If May did win and Ash fell in love with her, there would be nothing I could do about without breaking our agreement, which also meant if I got him, she would let us be.

"I agree." I said, extending my hand.

She took it and we shook, I began to squeeze extremely tight, May pulled away, rubbing her hand, glaring at me. I simply smirked and pulled the covers over me, laid my head on the pillow, and began to sleep. May turned out the light. I felt a hand smack my cheek hard.

"That's for the handshake." she said.

**~(o'-'o)~**

**The Journey to Johto for the Battle Frontier Starts next chapter! Stay tuned true believer! (I've always wanted to say that, I feel complete.) **


	4. Chapter 4: The Adventure begins

**Chapter 4: The Adventure finally begins…**

**By this point, I would like to thank Bulbapidia, I would probably have gotten several pieces of information in this story wrong if not for it, such as Pokémon moves, different routes, etc. So thanks to all who have contributed to it.******

**One thing that I swore to myself was that I wasn't going to pair up Eevee/Glaceon with Pikachu like in some other fanfics, I see what people are doing with the whole Pokémon reflect the feelings of their trainers, but it never felt right, Pikachu falling in love with someone just never seemed right. Sorry weatherballetshippers...******

**Oh, and you may notice that from Ash's point if view, the rivalry between May and Dawn disappears. It's because they are hiding it and Ash is of course dense, so he doesn't notice.**

**And for those who don't use their brains… I don't own Pokémon**

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

I didn't sleep well the night me and Dawn made our agreement. I tossed and turned. Dawn, on the other hand, slept like a log, as if she wasn't worry about anything. Late into the night, I finally dozed off.

"May! Wake up!" I heard someone shout as they shook me. I opened one eye to see Ash and Pikachu looking down at me.

"Mmm, what time is it?" I asked.

"Two in the afternoon!" Ash said, "Now let's go, I'd like to get moving today!" he pulled my arm forcing me out of bed. I stretched my arms and rubbed my eyes.

"Ugh, I'm too tired to travel today, Ash..." I whined, sitting back down on the bed. Ash and Pikachu looked at each other, and then nodded to each other.

"We'll wake you up then!" He said, "Pikachu, give May a weak thunder bolt!"

"Piiiiiikaaaa-"

"Wait! Ash! I'll get up!" I tried to say.

"CHUUUUUUUU!" Pikachu sent a little electricity into my body, instantly waking me up.

"Th-Th-thanks for nothing..." I said as I fell over.

"Just get moving or Dawn and I will leave without you!" Ash stated. At the thought of that, I quickly got prepared, and was soon ready to leave.

Dawn was outside with a few of her other Pokémon, talking to them; Ash was leaning against the wall next to the door waiting for me.

"Hey May," he said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Me and Pikachu are sorry about the way we treated you today, you didn't deserve it." he said.

"Pika..." Pikachu sadly agreed, ears hung downward.

I could tell he was being sincere, I embraced him tightly, "Don't worry about it Ash, I was being a bit of a jerk too," I let go and rubbed Pikachu on the head showing I forgave him as well.

"Ahem..."

All three of us turned to see Dawn, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Are we ready to go?" she asked.

"Yep!" Ash said confidently.

"PikaPika!" Pikachu cheered.

Ash said goodbye to his mom one final time before headed out.

"Take good care of him you two!" She shouted to me and Dawn as we walked away.

"Oh, brother..." Ash said to himself. I noticed once again that we were headed to Professor Oak's Lab.

"Uh, Ash. What are we doing?" a asked. Dawn rolled her eyes.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, I'm picking up Totodile and Gible to take with us. They have been itching for some battles." he said.

We went to the lab and picked up Totodile and Gible, who were extremely happy to be joining us, before we set out to take the ferry to Johto.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

I leaned on the rails, thinking about if going on this trip was really worth it. "Of course it is!" I said to myself, "Being with Ash makes it all worth it, besides, it not like I have anything to lose, I'll still get to complete in contests..." my voice trailed off, "with... Dawn..."

"You talking to yourself May?" I heard someone say behind me, I turned and saw Ash and Pikachu, both looking at me with grins on their faces.

"Yeah... I guess I was..." I replied.

"What's bothering you May, your not being your normal self?"

"Well..." I began

"Hey, you guys! Let's let out all of our Pokémon!" Dawn said suddenly. Damn, she was always popping up ruining the moment.

"Hey, that's a great idea Dawn!" Ash said. "Gible! Totodile! Come on out!"

I sighed, "Blaziken! Venusaur! Glaceon! Wartortle! Munchlax! Skitty! You too!" all six of my Pokémon came out.

"Piplup, Buneary, Pachirisu, Mamoswine, Quilava, and Togekiss, come on out!" Dawn Exclaimed.

Ash's, Dawn's, and my Pokémon all came out. Immediately. Quilava and Blaziken glared at each other, looking like they were ready for a fight, as well as Venusaur and Mamoswine.

"What the heck is going on with your Pokémon?" Ash asked, obviously confused. It was obvious to me. The Pokémon were reflecting their trainers feelings, my Pokémon were showing their dislike towards Dawn's.

I knew I had to cover up the situation, if we waited much longer one of our Pokémon could attack the other. "Come on you guys," I said, "Let's go look around the ferry."

Dawn caught on to what I was doing; trying to cover up her Pokémon's actions as well she said "Yeah, let's do the same." Dawn and I walked our separate ways, as me and my Pokémon rounded the corner, out of sight from Ash, I had a talk with my Pokémon. "Alright you guys, I told them, what you were doing was way too obvious. I know how you all feel, trust me, I... I feel the same way... But let's not make it as obvious, got it?" they all agreed.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV******

The captain announced that we would be arriving in New Bark Town in ten minutes.

"Man, I wonder were Dawn is." Ash said to himself.

"I wouldn't worry about her, I'm sure she's fine," I told him, almost wishing we wouldn't find her.

"Yeah, hey, when we get to New Bark Town, I want to say hi to an old friend."

"Who might that be?"

"Professor Elm, he's the professor of this region, and helps tons of new trainers get ready for their Pokémon journey."

"Like Professor Oak and Professor Birch?" I asked.

"Yep, except her gives trainers different starter Pokémon: Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile." Ash said. By now I was starting to get a little worried, Dawn had been gone for a while, was she up to something? That worry disappeared as we both heard Dawn shout our names.

"Ash! May! There you guys are! I've been looking for you." She said.

Ash gave her a confused look "I haven't moved from my spot since you guy left to look around."

"Oh really? Silly me." she said innocently. Ash just sweat dropped. I wasn't convinced.

The ferry finally reached land and we are hurried off. Ash headed to the Lab.  
><strong><br>****~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

"Sorry, but the Professor is out at the moment," Professor Elm's assistant said.

"Well, do you know where he went?" Ash asked.

"He said he was heading out to Route 29 for some research. You should be able to find him pretty easily." the assistant replied.

"Thanks!" Ash said.

"Pika!" Pikachu added.

"Come you guys! Let's go!" Ash stated as he ran towards what appeared to be Route 29.

"Hey Ash, wait up!" I called out as I started to run. My leg bumped into something, causing me to trip, I hit the ground hard. Dawn snickered and continued ahead of me.

"Are you and the girl rivals?" Elm's assistant asked as he helped me up.

"What makes you think that?" I asked.

"She was the one that tripped you." he replied.

"THAT LITTLE-" I started to yell as I ran in the direction she and Ash went.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Ash's POV**

I made my way through Route 29, both me and Pikachu looking left and right for the Professor.

"Do you see him anywhere Pikachu?" I asked.

"Chu..." he replied, shaking his head no.

"Me neither, his assistant said that he wouldn't be hard to find, but I don't see him anywhere."

"Help! I heard someone shout almost immediately after I finished speaking. Both me and Pikachu ran towards were we heard the sound. We quickly found the source; it was Professor Elm hanging from tree, several Spearows flying around the tree.

"Pikachu! Use thunder bolt!" I shouted.

"PiiiiiikaaaaCHUUUUUU!" he shouted as he released, a powerful electric attack from his body, Scaring most of the Spearow. They all retreated and squawking their names wildly... All but one. One Spearow was different, he had yellow and greenish feathers rather than it's normal brown.

"Spearow!" It shouted as it started charging at Pikachu with a Quick Attack.

"Pikachu! Dodge and use Thunder!" I commanded. Pikachu leapt out of the way in the nick of time, and shot a powerful Thunder at the Spearow. Right as the lightning was about to strike Spearow, it disappeared, and reappeared in front of Pikachu, smacking into him hard.

"Whoa, that looked like an Aerial Ace!" I said excitedly.

"Hey Ash!" I heard someone call from behind, it was Dawn.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"Pikachu is battling a Spearow that doesn't know how to quit." I told her.

"That's more than just an ordinary Spearow." Professor Elm said, walking up to me and Dawn. "That's a shiny Spearow, extremely rare."

I turned back to the battle, Spearow looked like he was about to use another Quick Attack.

"Pikachu! Counter with your own Quick Attack!" I shouted. Both Pokémon headed straight at each other, fierce looks in both their eyes. They hit each other hard, knocking them both back.

"Pikachu! Now's our chance! Give him a Thunder Bolt!" I told him.

Pikachu obeyed, releasing the electricity from his body, aiming it at the Spearow, hitting it.

"Direct hit!" Dawn shouted, "Come on Ash, You can do it!" May finally ran up to us, her hands and knees were covered in dirt, as if she had fallen.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Battling a shiny Spearow!" I replied. We all turned to the Spearow, who was laying on the ground. But it wasn't finished yet, after some struggling, it managed to get up!

"Wow! That Spearows got determination, it refuses to give up, and it's powerful!" I stated "I just got to catch it!"

Spearow started to attack with what looked like Peck.

"Pikachu! Wait for it to get close, and then use Iron Tail!"

As the Spearow closed in for the attack, Pikachu's tail started to glow; he swung it just as Spearow was in range, sending it flying.

"Go Pokéball!" I shouted as I threw the red and white ball at the shiny Spearow. It hit the Spearow, sucking it up before falling to the ground. It shook backhand forth, and shook, and shook. It finally stopped shaking, indicating that I had successfully caught it.

"Alright!" both Pikachu and I jumped into the air, "We just caught... A Shiny Spearow!"

"Pi Pikachu!"

"Alright! Great job Ash!" Dawn said, hugging me, which caught me by surprise, she had been acting strange lately, I wondered if she wasn't getting enough sleep. I shook those thoughts away as I quickly remembered what I came all the way out here for.

"So Professor, what were you doing all the way out here?" I asked.

"Ah, well you see, many trainers carry around a device called the "item finder" which will allow you to find object that other trainers may have dropped during their journey. Such as potions, spare Pokéballs and things like that. Anyways, I want to see if I could get certain Pokémon to do the same thing, but maybe more effectively. So I came out to route 29 to experiment with some of the starter Pokémon I had, but my Totodile disturbed a flock of Spearow on accident. All three starters ran off, and what's worse is I have a new Pokémon trainer coming to pick one of them up today..." he knelt down on the ground in despair "Oh, what will I do?"

"We can help you find your Pokémon." May said cheerfully. "You and Dawn head down that path, me and Ash will check that one." It looked like Dawn was about to say something, raising her index finger, but was interrupted by Professor Elm.

"That sounds like a great idea... um... What's your names both of you?" he said gesturing to both May and Dawn.

"I'm May," May said.

"And my name is Dawn," Dawn finished.

"Ah, great, now let's go Dawn, before the Pokémon get too far." Elm started walking down one of the paths.

"We should do the same, Ash." May said turning to me.

"Ok," I said, we walked down the path, Pikachu walking ahead of us, constantly looking left and right.

"Hey, maybe Totodile could help us find some of them," I suggested pulling out a Pokéball.

"And Spearow could search from the air," May suggested.

"Hey, yeah!" I said pulling out Spearow's Pokéball as well.

"Totodile! Spearow! Come on out!" Totodile made his entrance with a dance.

"Aww, that's so cute!" May said as she watched Totodile.

Spearow on the other hand, came out and started to use peck on me.

"Ouch! Hey! Cut it out! Spearow, quit it!" I shouted, waving my arms frantically, and letting go of Spearow's Pokéball. I fell to the ground, completely helpless, Spearow continued to use Peck on me. He meant business, he wouldn't stop the constant, painful attack. Suddenly a red beam hit Spearow, causing it to disappear. May was stand next to me, holding Spearow's Pokéball. Pikachu's cheeks were sparking, but stopped after Spearow was back in his Pokéball.

"Thanks May." I said, still lying on the ground. Pikachu jumped on my chest and started to lick my right arm.

"You're hurt!" May exclaimed, sitting down next to me. I looked at where Pikachu had licked, and sure enough, it was covered with scrapes and scratches.

"It's no big deal May, hardly even a flesh wound." I assured her, but she just reached into her backpack and pulled out a first aid kit.

"You're really over reacting, May." I began.

"This is my fault," she said "I shouldn't have told you to use Spearow."

"That's not your fault, May." I told her, "Not even or I knew that Spearow would do that, right Pikachu?"

"Pi..." he said, nodding his head.

May just sighed and started to wrap my arm with a white bandage, her cheeks started turning red, soon her entire face was red like a Charmander. I couldn't figure out why though, she not have been feeling very good that day .She finished wrapping up the bandage which covered my right arm from the shoulder to the wrist.

"Done!" she said proudly, she got up on her feet, extending her hand to me, which I grabbed and she pulled me to my feet, her face was still red, but I just shrugged it off.

"Ok, let's try to find those Pokémon." I said.

"Now if I was one of them... Where would I be..." May asked herself.

"Well if I was a Totodile, I would find some water. Totodile, do you think you could find a small pond or something," Totodile nodded, and started running down one of the paths.

"Hey wait up!" I called to him, I began to dash down the path.

"Ash, don't leave me behind!" May called out from behind. I would have normally of just ignored her or gave her a sarcastic remark, but I felt I owed it to her for bandaging my arm, even if it wasn't necessary. I slowed down and waited for her to catch up, before continuing down the path.

Before we knew it, we were standing in front of a small pond in the middle if the forest, two Totodiles playing together in the water. One I knew was mine; the other I assumed was Professor Elms.

"We found one of them." May said excitedly.

We walked up to them; the Professor's Totodile was a bit smaller than mine.

"You guys ready to get out of here?" I asked them both; they nodded together and jumped out of the pond.

We began to walk back to were I had found the Professor in the tree, but we heard some commotion on the other side of some bushes. Both me and May looked over and saw a trembling Chikorita surrounded by three Heracross.

"Oh, they must be upset about Chikorita disturbing them and crossing into their territory," I said.

May had already pulled our a Pokéball. "Blaziken! Use flamethrower on Heracross!" she shouted as she threw the ball, releasing the fire fighting type. It spit out flames at the bug types, a super effective move. The Heracross turned around and fled. Chikorita ran at May and tackled her to the ground, showing her affection and gratitude for saving him.

"I think he likes you, May," I told her, extending my hand to help her up.

"Yeah," she said cheerfully, "Now let's head back." I nodded in agreement. May returned Blaziken, thanking her for a job well done, We headed off with Pikachu sitting on my head, and each Totodile sitting in each of my shoulders, while May carried Chikorita in her arms.

We made our way back to the meeting spot without any further disturbances. Professor Elm and Dawn already waiting there waiting for us.

"Ah! I see that you found the missing Totodile and Chikorita, your friend Dawn was able to find Cyndaquil with ease." he said gesturing to the Cyndaquil on his shoulder.

"Great! So we found all three!" May said.

"Yeah!" I said, putting my hand in the air, May did the same. As our hands slapped together for a high five, a sharp pain ripped through my right, injured arm.

"Arg!" I exclaimed falling to my knees, grabbing my right arm.

"Ash!" Both Dawn and May cried in union.

"What happened!" Dawn asked.

"Ash's Spearow attacked him after he let him out of his Pokéball." May explained.

Both Pikachu and Totodile approached me with concerned looks on their faces.

"I'll be fine y-y-you guys, j-j-just hurt my arm, t-t-that's all," that was all I could say before I blacked out.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Ash's POV**

I opened my eyes a little, just to shut them tightly again, due to the bright lights shining on me. I slowly opened one eye, trying to get used to the light. Everything was blurry; I could see a few blurs moving around. As my eyes adjusted and vision cleared, I saw Pikachu, Totodile, May, Dawn, and Professor Elm looking down at me.

"Ash! You're awake!" Dawn said.

"Pika Pi!"

"Totodile tote!"

"What happened?" I asked, looking at Professor Elm.

"It appeared that Spearow's attack did a little more damage to your arm than you thought, nothing major, no broken bones, but just go easy on it for a while."

"You hear that Ash? Take it easy!" May repeated, she sounded serious, but also concerned.

"Yeah, I heard him," I said, sitting up, careful not to use my right arm.

"The trainer who's coming for his Pokémon will be here anytime now," Professor Elm stated, "Would you like to stick around and see which Pokémon he chooses?"

"Sure!" I told him.

Sure enough the trainer arrived within minutes. He had long red hair, he reminded me of Paul a little bit. Professor brought out all of the Pokémon, the red haired trainer looked at the for a minute, but then picked up Chikorita.

"I like this one," he stated, but Chikorita squirmed out of his hands, fell on the ground, and ran to May, hopping into her arms.

"It's appears Chikorita is taken," Professor Elm said.

"Hmph, no matter, I take this one," he said, picking up Cyndaquil, who didn't struggle at all.

"Excellent choice!" Elm assured him. After the trainer left, Elm's Totodile looked bummed out, but my Totodile came up to it, comforting him.

"Don't worry Totodile!" Elm told it, "You and I have a lot of work to do, and lots of experiments to test." Which cheered up Elm's Totodile up a bit.

"May, you know that if you take Chikorita, you have to return one of your Pokémon to Professor Oak's lab right?" I told her. She looked down at Chikorita.

"What do you suggest I do?" She asked me.

"Well, Chikorita is a grass type, so Venusaur would be your best option, I'm sure my Bulbasaur will be happy to see it again." I told her, "Besides, you can request it back whenever you like." her face brightened.

As May was transferring Venusaur over I asked Professor Elm "What should I do about Spearow?"

"Well, I would normally say release it, especially after it did something like that, but then again, it's a Shiny Pokémon, something good could come out of it..." he answered.

"Okay, I'll think about it." I told him, I returned Totodile to his Pokéball, Pikachu hopped on my left shoulder. May had just finished transferring her Venusaur, but she looked a little sad about it.

"Alright you guys, it's time to get going," I told May and Dawn. We exchanged our final goodbyes with Professor Elm and his assistant before heading down Route 29

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

Our visit with Professor Elm was a little longer than planned, mostly because of Ash blacking out. As we made our way down Route 29, we notice it was starting to get dark.

"Ash, maybe we should stop and set up camp," Dawn suggested. For once, I actually agreed with her.

"Yeah, but..." he started, but was interrupted by Dawn.

"Look there's a great spot to set up over here," she said, dragging him to a large open field.

Ash just sighed. "Okay I guess..." So we set up camp, Dawn prepared food for the Pokémon, I set up sleeping bags, and Ash went out to get firewood. While Ash was gone, me and Dawn didn't exchange even a word, she just kept smirking, which made me a little nervous. When Ash returned, we lit the campfire and sat down. Ash was watching to Pokémon eat, he turned towards us.

"So, Uh, heh, did either of you learn how to cook while on your separate journeys?" he asked.

"I didn't," I said, we both turned to Dawn.

"Don't look at me!" She said.

"So... None of us know how to cook?" Ash asked, he sounded like he was going to panic.

"Looks that way." I said. A growl came from Ash's stomach.

"Aaaahhh!" he leapt to his feet.

"Ash, can you not go a night without a meal?" I asked, the thought just seemed to freak him out more. He ran into the forest, Pikachu, Totodile, and Gible hot on his heals. I couldn't help but giggle.

"I hope he's careful with his arm out there..." I said. Dawn nodded, showing that she was concerned as well. I realized even if we were rivals, we both cared about Ash, but I guess that would be expected.

We sat there in silence... Time past slowly, Dawn started fidgeting. Ash hadn't come back and we were both starting to worry, what if something happened to him? Right when I was about to get up and search around for him, I heard him shout:

"Hey guys look what I found!" He came back with a boy who had a green headband with a Pokéball on it, crazy white hair everywhere. He wasn't anyone that I recognized.

"This is Brendan, he happens to know how to cook!" Ash said excitedly. "I told him he could use our supplies if he would make us something."

"Yeah I didn't have anything to cook with," Brendan said, "So it seems we both were missing something." After we got a pot over the fire, Brendan cooked us a soup similar to what Brock made, not as good, but still well cooked.

"So Brendan," Ash began "what are you doing out here in the woods like this?"

"I'm on my way to Violet City for a gym battle." Brendan replied.

"Oh yeah, I battled there once." Ash said. Brendan was about to say something, but his belt lit up, it appeared that one of his Pokéballs opened.

"Oh, no! not again!" Brendan shouted as the Pokémon released itself, revealing a Haunter.

"Haunt, Haunter Haunt!" the Pokémon said.

"Whoa! It's a Haunter!" Ash said.

"It's creepy," Dawn said.

"Haunter, return!" Brendan said, holding up its Pokéball. Haunter must have had other plans; he avoided the red beam that would normally absorb him. He then hid behind Ash.

"That's odd..." Brendan said.

"What?" I asked.

"Haunter normally hates being close to other people, but he seems fine with you, Ash." Brendan said.

"So you've been having trouble with Haunter huh?" Ash asked, looking behind him, watching the Pokémon.

"Worse than you'd think. You see back went it was just a Gastly, he was pretty friendly to other people, he and I were best friends. We trained hard, and he learned lots of new moves, but one day, he became powerful enough to evolve, but when he did, he wasn't the same as before. He became much more violent, attacking other people, and... And even me..." Brendan said sadly, Ash and Dawn both had wet eyes, I could feel sadness welling up inside me as well.

"I got an odd colored Spearow today, it attacked me," Ash said, "look what it did to my arm," he lifted his bandaged arm a little.

"An odd colored Spearow?" Brendan said, "You mean, like, a shiny Pokémon?"

"Yeah," Ash said, pulling out the ball. "Want to see it?"

I shot up out of my seat, "Ash are you crazy? He could attack you again!" I protested, snatching the ball from his hand.

"Yeah... But if things get out hand, you can return it, I'm sure it has calmed down by now." Ash said, "Or Pikachu can thunder bolt it."

"PikaPika!" Pikachu said.

I looked down at the Pokéball, "If it hurts you again, you get rid of it... Okay?" I told him.

Ash looked a bit shocked at first, but then started thinking. "Okay, deal." he said. I released the Pokémon ready to return it if needed. The second it was released, it shot up into the air, and dove down smacking into Ash. Ash flew backwards landing hard on his back. I pointed the ball at the Shiny Pokémon, a red beam came out of it, but Spearow dodged the beam and flew at Brendan, who braced himself for impact. But to everyone's surprise, Spearow perched himself on Brandon's shoulder.

"Hey, I think he likes you," Ash said, sitting up. I got up to give him a hand, but Haunter beat me to it. He helped Ash get back on his feet.

"Weird, My Spearow likes you, and your Haunter likes me." Ash said.

Brandon looked at the Spearow sitting on his shoulder, "Yeah, maybe we should trade." he said.

"Haunter!" the ghost type agreed.

"Spearow!" chimed in.

"Hey that sounds great!" Ash said. "There's a Pokémon center in Cherrygrove city, we can trade our Pokémon there."

"Sounds like a plan!" Brendan said.

Dawn let out a yawn, "alright you guys, I'm going to bed," she said getting up.

Ash stretched, "Yeah, I'm pretty tired. Brendan, why don't you come with us to until we reach Cherrygrove?" Ash suggested.

"Okay, Thanks!" Brendan replied. He returned Haunter and set up his sleeping bag and before we knew it, he was sound asleep.

Ash had also returned his Spearow, and also went to bed. I got in my sleeping bag, not realizing how tired I was. I quickly fell asleep.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Dawn's POV**

I woke up early, making sure everyone was still asleep. I quickly got out of my sleeping bag. I grabbed a bowl that we used for the soup. I wandered through the woods a while, looking for a small pond or something.

After some searching, I found a pond with clear sparkling water. I scooped up the some water with the bowl, and made my way back to the camp. I warmed the water over the campfire, which I had Quilava restart, careful to make sure it wasn't too hot.

I looked at May, sleeping quietly, completely unaware of my movements. I just stared at her. I was trying to determine if what I was about to do was really a good idea. Although I knew that we were rivals, strong rivals, I wondered if this was going too far.

I shook my head, "Just do it." I told myself, a smirk crawling on my face. I had watched a friend do this to another friend for fun once.

I dipped my finger in the water, making sure it was warm enough. I set the bowl next to May, one of her hands were sticking out of her sleeping bag. It was too perfect, it was like she was asking me to do this, and she had even taken off her gloves for the night.

"What are you doing?" I heard someone say. I froze, but then slowly turned around and found Brendan sitting up in his sleeping bag.

"I-Uh-you see..." the words wouldn't come, I was completely taken my surprise.

"You're pulling the old hand-in-the-warm-bowl-of-water prank aren't you?" he asked. We both just stared at each other.

"Y-y-yeah..." I finally said.

"Oh, just be careful she doesn't get you back later." he said, laying back down. I was surprised that he didn't even bother trying to stop me.

"Okay..." I said to myself quietly.

I gently picked up her arm and set her hand in the warm bowl of water. She shifted a little bit, causing me to jump back a little. But she didn't wake up; her hand was still in the bowl. I crept back to my sleeping bag, and quietly laid there with a smirk on my face.

**~(o'-'o)~**

**Would you call that a cliffhanger? If you don't like what you know is gonna happen next, tell me.**

**So I figured I would respond to a few reviews now that there area few. **

**HUKBALAHAP Commando: That is my plan, but I'm saving Berry's Dad for last. How'd I do this from my ipod? I just emailed the note to myself, and when then when I had access to a computer, I would submit it from there.**

**Maysangelstar: We'll just see what the future holds.**

**Ghost of the Shadows: Thanks for the reviews!**

**Anyone else who has reviewed: Thank you so much for the reviews, they are what make me want to keep on writing…**


	5. Chapter 5: The Miniature War

**Chapter Five: A Miniature War**

**This was the most awkward thing I have ever written in my life… I thought it was a good idea at first, but now I'm having some second thoughts, I edited a lot and too out some even more awkward details that I didn't like (yes, this was even more awkward than it already was). For those who don't know the hand in warm water prank… just Google it, I'm tired of talking about it.**

**Okay so I have a bit of a confession to make… I never watched any of the anime that took place in Johto, so maps and what not may lean more toward the games (I have played Cystal) rather than the anime, sorry if some of my info is off.**

**For those who enjoy consistency, I don't own Pokémon… and thanks again Bulbapida**

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

I felt something shaking me.

"May, it's time to get going." something said

"Five more minutes Mom..." I said, automatically.

"May! I'm not gonna go through this a second time!"

"What do you mean a second time?" I asked, opening an eye. Ash was crouching next to me.

"You know... Remember the day we left?" I asked.

"Oh, right." I said, sitting up and stretching. I slowly, got out of my sleeping bag, rubbing my eyes.

"Uh May..." Ash started

"Yeah Ash?" I replied.

"Y-y-your... Uh... Err... Pants..." he was obviously flustered.

"What's wrong with my-" I looked down, my face turned beet red.

"Gah! What the heck?" I exclaimed trying to cover the wet spot on my pants, both Dawn and Brandon looked at me. My eyes started to water, I shot into the woods.

"May wait!" I heard Ash shout, but I just ignored him, continuing further in the woods.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Dawn's POV**

"May wait!" Ash shouted as she ran into the forest. I tried as hard as I could to keep from laughing, I was afraid that if I looked at Brandon I would. I did look at him however, he appeared somewhat sad.

"Never seen a reaction like that before," He muttered. Ash turned around and looked at us. I thought He might of figured out I had played a trick, I had tried to cover it up by removing the bowl when Ash woke up, which was just a couple minutes after I had placed it. But Ash appeared completely oblivious.

"That was the most awkward moment of my life." he told us.

"Yeah, that's definitely not something you see everyday." Brandon said.

I didn't say anything, I thought I would blow my cover. I figured I might feel the sting of guilt from doing something like that, but I felt somewhat satisfied with what I did.

"We should probably go look for her..." Brandon said, "... She might run into some dangerous wild Pokémon." Ash nodded.

"You head that way," Ash said to Brandon, pointing a little the the right, "Me and Dawn will go that way," he now motioned to the left. I silently squealed, he was asking me to go with him, but if we did find May, that could end badly.

"Let's go Pikachu!" Ash said.

"PikaPika!" Pikachu shouted, following Ash, I was right behind him.

We went deeper and deeper into the forest in silence, Ash finally broke it.

"It's so weird, May never did anything like that in Hoenn or Kanto..." He said.

"Pika..." Pikachu agreed.

"Maybe something's been bothering her lately." Ash continued, he sighed "Let's hope that we can all just forget about this in the end."

I hugged him tightly, as much as I wanted to make May miserable, I hated to see Ash like this. Besides, this was a good excuse to get close to him. I rested my head on his shoulder, opposite to the one Pikachu was perched on obviously.

"Don't worry," I told him, "I'm sure she'll be just fine." it felt a little odd saying that. Surprisingly, he returned the embrace.

"I hope so," he said. Our moment was cut short by some rustling in the bushes. Some Spearow flew out of the bushes, shouting their names wildly, they dove from the sky and headed straight towards us, just like Ash's Shiny Spearow did the other night. Ash dove at me knocking me to the ground, falling as well. Pikachu hopped off of Ash and landed in a battle stance.

"GAH!" Ash cried. Both Pikachu and I both turn to look at Ash.

"Ash what's wrong?" I asked, slightly panicking.

"N-no-nothing, just landed on my bad arm..." was all he said. While Pikachu was distracted, the Spearow began to attack, hitting Pikachu hard, knocking him out.

"Pikachu!" I shouted, "Alright, let's show these dumb birds a real fight!" I shouted, pulling out a Pokéball. "Go! Pachirisu! Use Discharge!" I exclaimed.

The electric type obeyed, shooting out blue flashes of lightning, hitting and scaring all the Spearow away.

"Great job Pachirisu, why don't you stick around in case we bump into more trouble..." I told it.

"Pachirisu!" It said.

Ash was getting up, careful not to use his hurt arm, so I helped him get up. He immediately ran up to Pikachu, who was just recovering from the attack.

"Pikachu..." Ash said quietly, picking up Pikachu.

"PikaPi..." Pikachu replied.

"Sorry about that, I got side tracked with my arm..." Ash explained, Pikachu hopped back on Ash's shoulder.

"Thanks for the help back there Dawn, you too Pachirisu," Ash said to us. I just nodded my head.

"Anytime Ash," I told him, felt my face heat up.

"Alright, now let's go find May." he said, starting down the path again.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

I had never felt like such a big failure at life. Not when I lost my first contest, failed with Bulbsaur, lost the Grande Festival to Drew or Solidad, or any other time.

I had found a small ledge that dropped about ten feet or so in the forest. I had sat down on the ledge to cry in self pity.

"Why?" I asked myself, "I made a total fool if myself in front of my rival, someone a hardly know, and most importantly... Ash." Tears were streaming down my cheeks.

"He us probably thinking about how immature I am right now," I said, sobbing. "Oh, I've never felt more embarrassed in all my life!" I shouted.

"You shouldn't be punishing yourself like this..." Someone said. I froze, and then I turned around. Brendan was standing a few feet away, a soft smile on his face.

"What do you want?" I asked turning away.

"We've been searching through the woods for you. You know we can't move on to Violet City without you." he said, sitting on the ledge next to me.

"I feel like such an idiot..." I told him, "I don't even know how it happened..."

"It was Dawn's doing..." he stated. I turned to him surprised.

"What does she have to do with this?" I asked.

"Ever heard of the hand-in-warm-water prank?" he asked. I thought for a minute, but then it came to me. I stood up, enraged.

"Wait'll I show that stupid bitch what real pain feels like!" I said. Brenden stood up.

"Wait! You can't tell anybody! If Dawn finds out I told you, she might do something horrible to me as well!" he said quickly. I though about his logic...

"Deal, at least until we go our separate ways..." I said extending my hand for a handshake.

"Deal," he said, grabbing my hand, and shaking it.

"Alright, let's go back." I said. He nodded, we made our way back.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Dawn's POV**

After an hour or so of fruitless searching, we finally agreed to go back to the campsite.

"Maybe Brendan found her..." Ash suggested. I was relieved that we hadn't found May, because that would have resulted in an extremely awkward encounter. Ash and Pikachu's faces both reflected concern.

"I don't even know how to face her..." Ash said. I understood, I could only imagine what must have been going through his head.

"Well, just let her make the first move." I told him.

"You think?" Ash asked.

"Sure, I'm sure May already has something planned." I told him.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Ash said. We reached the campsite neither Brendan or May was there. We both wordlessly sat down in the cool grass. We sat there for a while, looking towards the woods waiting for Brendan.

Ash got bored, and let out Totodile and Gible. Pikachu hopped out of Ash's lap and the three Pokémon playfully chased each other. We both sat there and watched them play a little until we heard some rustling in the woods, Brendan and May emerged from the forest. There was a horrible awkward silence. May and Ash refused to look at each other, looking around instead.

"I guess we should head over to Cherrygrove City." Ash said, neither May or I responded.

"Okay, let's hit the road." Brandon said. Ash returned Gible and Totodile. Pikachu hopped back on Ash's shoulder. We found the road and walked down towards Cherrygrove. Ash was to my left and to Ash's left was Brendan. May walked quietly a little behind. Ash and Brendan were both talking about battle strategies and different adventures that they both had. I just listened, occasionally glancing back at May to see what she doing. She stared at the ground looking deep in thought.

"Hey guys! There's Cherrygrove City!" Brendan said. I looked over, it wasn't a big town, it had a Pokémon Center and shop, a few houses, and a small beach, out in the water you could make out a small island.

"Alright!" Ash said, "Let's run the rest of the way!" he charged forward, I ran after him.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

I was deep in thought thinking about a few things, first, how to explain to Ash what happened without Brendan getting in trouble with Dawn. I hadn't spoken to anyone since Brendan found me in the woods, and I was tired of it. Second, I was plotting how to get back at Dawn for pulling that horrible prank on me. There was just a problem, what if she told Ash I did something to her. I thought about it for a while, but then figured maybe I wouldn't tell Ash what Brendan told me. I could threaten Dawn that I would tell Ash about the prank if she told on me. My chain of thought was abruptly stopped when someone called my name.

"May?"

I snapped out of my trance, Brendan was standing in the road. Ash and Dawn were running far ahead of us.

"Oh, sorry..." I said, breaking into a run, Brendan doing the same. We reached the town; it didn't appear to be very active. I fell over on the ground, gasping for breath, even though Brendan didn't appear phased by the run.

"Come on, let's head to the Pokémon Center." Ash said, making his way towards the familiar building. We all walked in, Nurse Joy was there to greet us like always. We walked over to the Trading Machine which was used to trade Pokémon. I was looking forward to this; I had never seen anyone trade Pokémon before. Ash looked at Spearow's Pokéball.

"Even though I never really got to know this Spearow, trading it is hard." he sighed. I put my hand on his shoulder hoping to comfort and encourage him.

"Remember your promise?" I asked him, it felt odd; it was the first time I had spoken to him directly since this morning.

"What promise?" he asked. Pikachu looked a little confused as well.

"You promised you would get rid of Spearow if he hurt you. He attacked you again last night when you let him out." I told him.

He stared at the Pokéball. "Yeah," he said, "I guess you're right." Brendan had watery eyes as well.

"Haunter and I were best friends back when he was just a Ghastly..." He said sadly, "So much had changes since then..."

"I know what you mean..." Ash told him.

"Let's just get this over with, this is the hardest part," Brendan said.

"Yeah, let's do it." Ash agreed confidently. They both placed the Pokéballs in the spots on the machine and activated it. The Pokémon appeared on the screen moving from one side to the other. Before you could blink, the trade was done.

Each trainer took the Pokéballs containing their new Pokémon. Brendan stared at the Pokéball in Ash's hand, sadness in his eyes. I put my hand on Brendan's shoulder, even though I barely knew him, he was still sort of a friend, and I kind of owed him.

Brendan opened his Pokéball, "Alright, come on out Spearow." the oddly colored flying type appeared from the Pokéball, looking a little confused. Brendan crouched next to bird.

"So Spearow, you ready to come with me?" he asked.

The Spearow looked at him happily, flying into his shoulder. Ash threw his Pokéball in the air.

"Alright, Haunter! Come on out!" he said as the Pokémon was released from the ball. Haunter appeared floating in front of Ash. Almost instantly, it began to glow.

"Hey! It's evolving!" Dawn said.

Sure enough, the shape if the Pokémon changed into an odd little purple Pokémon which grew legs.

"Gengar!" The Ghost/Poison type exclaimed.

"Whoa it's a Gengar!" Ash said excitedly. I flipped open my PokéDex, hoping to find out something about him.

"Gengar, the Shadow Pokémon." it began, "Gengar hides in the shadows. If a Gengar is nearby, it is said to feel ten degrees colder than normal."

As if on cue, the temperature dropped.

"I don't get it..." I said, "Why did Haunter just evolve like that?"

Brendan scratched his head, "I think I heard that if a Haunter is traded, it would evolve into a Gengar." He said.

"That's awesome!" Ash said, "Well Gengar, what do you say? Want to come with us?"

"Gen!" the Shadow Pokémon said as he hopped on Ash's shoulder. The Gengar and Pikachu were starting up a conversation, when we heard a low growl come from Ash's stomach.

"Heh, guess I'm hungry." he said, my stomach growled as well.

"Yeah, we completely skipped breakfast..." I said.

We went into the cafeteria and ordered meals. We talked about different things and our previous journeys. It appeared that Ash had completely forgotten about this morning. Pikachu and Gengar where sitting on the table, Pikachu sucking on a bottle of ketchup, Gengar stared at the bowl of food Pokémon food in front of him. I kept an eye on it for a while but he never touched his food.

"Gengar, are you not hungry?" I asked him. He looked up from his food, and looked at me. His eyes fell on my food.

"Here, try it." I told him holding up a french fry. He took it out of my hand and looked at it, and finally ate it. He obviously liked it, because his face lit up and he floated over to my plate, looking at the plate and then me, and back at the plate.

"Sure, you can have some." I told him. He plopped down and started to eat.

"Hey, it looks like Gengar likes french fries." Ash said, he looked over at the bowl of Pokémon food. "But he hasn't touched his other food."

"Even as a Ghasty, he never was into Pokémon food." Brendon said. Gengar finished up the plate of fries, looking up at me again as if I could get him more.

"Could we get some more fries over here?" I asked the waitress.

"They'll be out in a few minutes," she replied.

"Looks like Gengar really likes you May," Ash said. Gengar had floated above me and sat down on my head.

"Yeah, probably just because of the French fries." I said.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

After saying goodbye to Brendan, we made our way up Route 30. I was to the right of Ash and Dawn the left. Pikachu and Gengar were perched on Ash's shoulders. But Ash stopped when he found a spot that he thought would be good for training.

"Hey you guys, let's stop and train for a while. I want to be ready for my frontier battle!" he said. He sent out Totodile and Gible.

"Alright you guys." Ash said, "We need to practice for our next battle."

"I think I could use some practice for my next contest, I was told at the Pokémon center that there will be one in Violet City." I said.

"I think I'll just watch." Dawn said.

Ash looked at her "But Dawn, aren't you gonna practice for your next contest?"

"I'll be fine, maybe I'll learn something from watching you guys." she said, she sat down on a nearby boulder.

"Alright, Chikorita! Wartortle! Come on out!" I exclaimed. The two Pokémon appeared in the field

"Now let's see, what moves would Chikorita know?" I asked myself. "Try vine whip," I told Chikorita. Vine emerged from his body, which snapped at the ground.

"Looks like it could use some work..." Dawn said. I glared at Dawn, Chikorita lowered his head in shame.

"Don't listen to her," I told him, crouching next to him, "We'll get her back later." I promised. I turned to Wartortle, and whispered a plan into her ear.

"Okay Watertortle! Give us your best water gun on that tree!" I said pointing at tree near Dawn. Wartortle shot a power jet of water from her mouth, but instead of hitting the tree, she hit Dawn in the face, knocking her clean off the rock she was sitting on. Dawn angrily hopped up on her feet, enraged. She was soaking wet and hair was all messed up.

"MAY! I'm going to kill you!" she said, running at me. Before I could dodge, she lunged at me, knocking me to the ground; we tumbled down slope, having a cat fight all the way down.

"Gengar! Use confusion on May and Dawn!" I heard Ash shout. We were forced away from each other and suspended in the air. We looked over and saw Ash standing at the foot of the hill we had tumbled down, Gengar on his shoulder, eye glowing purple.

"Put me down Gengar!" Dawn said, franticly waving her arms and legs.

"Don't stop, Gengar." Ash told the Shadow Pokémon. "What were you two doing?" He asked. By now, Chikorita, Wartortle, Totodile, Gible, and Pikachu were standing next to Ash. Chikorita and Wartortle had concerned looks in their eyes.

"May's Wartortle hit me with a Watergun attack." Dawn whined, I had to force myself not to laugh, she sounded like a tattling three year old. Ash just looked at me with a confused look in his face.

"Wartortle! You know better than that!" I scolded the water type. Ash seemed convinced. He had Gengar put me and Dawn down and walked back up the hill with Dawn. When I was sure that Ash and Dawn weren't watching, I crouched next to Wartortle and gave her a few poffins.

"Good job." I told her quietly as I rubbed her head. My Pokémon and I made our way up the hill, and found Ash and Dawn getting ready for a battle.

"What are you two doing?" I asked.

"I want to let Gengar show off his full potential in a real battle, would you mind being the judge?" He asked.

"Sure, I've never been a judge before." I said. "What are the rules?"

"We're just gonna do a one on one battle." Ash said. "Of course, I pick Gengar." Gengar leapt on the field anxious to battle.

"I choose Quilava!" Dawn exclaimed. The fire type starter appeared on the field.

"Alright Gengar, use Shadow Ball!" Ash said. What ever happened to ladies first? Gengar formed a purple ball out of thin air and shot it at Quilava.

"Quilava, dodge it and use flame wheel!" Dawn commanded. Quilava jumped out way of the Shadow Ball and began to perform flame wheel, rolling straight towards Gengar.

"Gengar use double team!" Ash told Gengar. Multiple Gengars appeared around the field. They all were wearing a playful grin on their face.

"Now use Shadow Ball!" Ash said. The Gengars all shot Shadow Balls at Quilava, who got hit by the real one. Quilava quickly recovered and glared at the Gengar who was standing on the other side of the field. It looked like Gengar was enjoying the battle.

"Use Shadow Punch Gengar!" Ash shouted. Gengar proceeded, a huge transparent fist headed straight towards Quilava.

"Use Swift Quilava!" Dawn said. The fire type shot the stars at Gengar. But the stars just went though Gengar. The shadow punch hit Quilava though, sending him flying. He landed on the ground, laid there.

"B-b-but..." Dawn said.

"Dawn, normal type attacks don't have any effect on ghost types." Ash told her.

"But half of Quilava moves are normal types." Dawn protested.

"Well then use the other half." Ash told her.

"Quilava is unable to battle! The victory goes to-" I began.

"Wait! Quilava isn't out yet!" Dawn protested.

"Yes he is." I began, but Quilava slowly got up.

"May, don't be so quick to judge." Ash told me.

"Quilava, use Smokescreen!" Dawn said. The field was covered with a black smoke.

"Gengar, can you see anything?" Ash asked.

"Gar!" the Pokémon protested.

"Quilava! Use eruption!" Dawn commanded. A blast of fire shot out of the smoke, clearing it away. I put my hands over my mouth, Gengar was in the middle of the hot blast. Gengar flew out of the pillar of heat and landed hard on the ground. I didn't want Ash to lose, plus I was growing fond of Gengar.

"Uh, May! End the battle! I won!" Dawn said.

"Don't be so quick to judge." I quoted, in a matter-a-fact tone. Dawn just glared at me, but sure enough, Gengar got back up.

"You think you can keep going Gengar?" Ash asked it.

"Gengar!" he replied confidently.

"Gengar, use hypnosis!" Ash told him. The ghost type sent out several rings towards Quilava. Quilava quickly fell asleep.

"Okay, now use Dream Eater!" Ash said. Gengar flew at the sleeping Quilava. Ramming through him, Quilava fell on his back.

"Quilava is unable to battle! The winner is Ash and Gengar!" I exclaimed.

"Your judging to quickly again!" Dawn said. But Quilava didn't get back up, its eyes were replaced with swirls.

"Dawn, I don't think Quilava can battle anymore..." Ash said. I stuck out my tongue at Dawn and pulled down one of my lower left eye lid. I just got a glare from her.

"Great job Gengar! You were amazing!" Ash said. I walked over to him and embraced him, Gengar floated up into my head.

"You guys did amazing," I said.

"Thanks, Brendan really trained him well." Ash said, returning the embrace. I turned to look at Dawn. She returned her Quilava and glared at me.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

We had continued up Route 30, but as it got late, we set up camp.

"So now that Brendan's not here to cook, what are we gonna eat?" Ash asked.

"We could split up and look for some berries. May, you go that way, me and Ash will go the other way." Dawn said quickly. I knew she was trying to get some alone time with Ash, which I would not let happen.

"Wouldn't it be faster if we all went separate ways?" I asked.

"May's right Dawn, it would be faster." Ash said, making Dawn pout. Good grief, she knew how to act immature. We all separated. As I walked through the forest, I realized I forgot my Pokéballs.

"Oh well, I probably won't need them..." I told myself.

After looking around for a while, I came up to a huge tree, Oran berries growing all over it. There was enough to feed me, Ash, Dawn, and all of our Pokémon for weeks. But the berries were way too high for me to reach. While I was mentally kicking myself for not bringing my Pokémon, who could have helped me pick the berries, I didn't notice a figure walk up behind me.

"Certainly a lot of berries," the person behind me said. I jumped and automatically reached for one of my Pokéballs, which of course I didn't have.

"Chill out, May, it's just me." I realized it was Ash.

"Ash don't scare me like that..." I told him.

"Sorry, hey, did you bring any of your Pokémon?" he asked.

"No..." I told him.

"Dang it... I forgot all mine also." Ash said.

"What about Pikachu?"

"He fell fast asleep at the camp..."

I looked up at the berries, which seemed so far away. "Maybe, you could give me a boost..." I suggested.

He looked at me, "How much do you weigh?"

I sighed, this just proved Ash didn't know anything about girls, "That's not something we girls like to share..." I told him.

"But how can I know if I can lift you up?" He asked.

"Don't worry about it, I don't weigh that much." I assured him.

"Alright." He said somewhat uneasily. He knelt down by the tree, "Get up on my shoulders."

Carefully, I got up on his shoulders, leaning on the tree to keep from falling over. He slowly stood up, I started to wobble.

"M-m-maybe this isn't such as good idea..." I told him.

"It was your idea, don't worry, I'm not going to let you fall." he assured me. With that being said I began to pick off berries and threw them on the ground.

"How many should I pick?" I asked.

"I don't know, just try to take as many as you can reach." He said.

Then out of nowhere, someone yelled "HEY YOU FOUND SOME BERRIES!" it was Dawn, who appeared out of seemingly nowhere. She startled Ash and I so bad that we began to wobble. We both toppled over, I hit the ground with a thud.

"Oh my goodness! Ash are you okay?" She asked, helping Ash up, giving no heed to me.

"Yeah, but my back is gonna be killing me tomorrow morning." He said."How about you May?" he asked looking over at me.

I began to cry, "I can't move," I said through the tears. I wasn't lying, my arms and legs weren't responding, and I felt pain in several places.

"Wait, are you sure?" Ash asked, kneeling next to me.

"Yes," I said, I could barely nod my head. He began to pick me up, and with Dawn's assistance, much to her dismay, he managed to carry me on his back, similar to how he had carried Dawn back before we left for Johto.

"Hey Dawn, I'm going to head back to the camp with May, would you mind picking up the berries May picked." Ash asked, she just nodded, and began to pick up the berries.

As Ash walked back to the camp, my strength slowly returned, I wrapped my arms around his neck as tightly as I could.

"Sorry about dropping you May." Ash said, I could tell he felt guilty.

"Don't worry about it, wasn't your fault..." I told him. I knew Dawn had purposely startled us both so that I fall and get hurt. I snickered to myself, looks like that plan backfired.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Dawn's POV**

"Looks like that plan backfired..." I said to myself. I was mentally kicking myself. "Because of me not thinking, Ash is carrying May back to the camp and I'm stuck here on Berry Duty." I huffed, I had not had a good day, I got smacked in the face by a Watergun, lost a battle and let May rub it in, and now this! May was starting to play the game a little more roughly, which was not good. I was tempted to do the hand-in-the-warm-bowl-of-water prank again tonight because it had worked so well. I shook my head, if I did it too many times, Ash or May would find out it was me, and that would be bad.

I finished picking up the berries and started walking toward the camp.

"I can't use the same trick twice." I told myself. "I have to think up new ones," It wasn't like I was alone on this, my Pokémon would be there to aid me, just like how May had used her Wartortle.

I reached the camp and set all the berries down. May was resting near the campfire, she sitting up with her arms wrapped around her legs.

"Where's Ash?" I asked coldly.

"Why should I tell you?" She responded.

"Oh don't act like that, just tell me were he is!" I was already mad enough as it was, this was just making me angrier.

"Why would I even want to talk to creep like you after what you did, you could of both gotten me AND Ash badly hurt." She said emphasizing the "and."

I kicked her, knocking her over, she let out a small scream. "Your being such a cry baby!" I yelled at her.

"Is that a good enough reason to kick her and knock her over?" I looked up, Ash was standing at the edge of the woods, carrying a bucket of water.

"Ash I..." I said.

"There is obviously some sort of disagreement between you two. I've seen May slap you and you kick May, not to mention you both tumbling down a hill fighting each other. You know I'm not as dense as I seem." He said. Wow, it really took him that long to see the disagreement?

"I know it's not really any of my business, knowing what you two are fighting about. But can we just get along? Because I don't know if I want to travel with you two if you're going to argue like this."

"It won't happen again," told Ash.

"Yeah, it won't happen again," May said. We both shook hands, which was bit awkward with May still sitting on the ground. Ash appeared satisfied, once was his back was turned I murmured to May

"This is far from over."

"Definitely not." May responded quietly.

**~(o'-'o)~**

**As you can probably already tell (by looking at my name) I like Gengar, he's my favorite Pokémon. He's even more awesome than legendary Pokémon, so I HAD to put him in (He actually plays a big role in this whole thing)**


	6. Chapter 6: Things Get Rollin

**Chapter Six: Things Get Rollin'**

**The only thing that kept me from posting this was correcting the grammar. It's got to be my least favorite part… oh, and E3 was today, so that was distracting, heard some awesome news!**

**For the gorillas and trolls out there, I still don't own Pokemon.**

May's POV

I barely slept that night. Mostly because I was afraid Dawn would try that prank again. But she never did. Although during the night while I tried to fall asleep, I heard a noise and saw a flash of light through my eyelids. But when I opened my eyes, it looked like nothing had been disturbed.

We packed up made the final stretch to Violet City almost wordlessly. Ash was walking farther ahead, talking to Pikachu, most likely about what happened last night. Dawn and I were walking side by side, a thick tension between us. As much as we both would have wanted to start a fight, we held ourselves back. We didn't want to upset Ash again, so we just kept quiet, occasionally flashing glares at each other.

"Hey guys! I can see Violet City." Ash called out.

"PikaPika!" Pikachu added.

We entered the city, but the people there seemed a little tense. As if they were expecting something was going to attack them at any minute. We headed to the Pokémon Center to get a room for the night. In the lobby, trainers were talking and whispering to each other.

"Hey Nurse Joy," Ash began, "What's going on around here, everyone is super tense, as if their scared of something."

"Oh it was horrible," Nurse Joy began. "A mysterious Pokémon terrorized the town last night; so many people and Pokémon were horrified. During the same night, hundreds of Pokémon belonging to trainers were reported missing..."

"Whoa," Ash said.

"M-ma-maybe staying here isn't just a good idea," Dawn said.

"Don't worry about it, Dawn. I'm gonna look into this" Ash said confidently. I was feeling uneasy about the whole thing too, but we were all going to share a room, so that was a little comforting.

"What do you plan on doing Ash?" I asked.

"I'm gonna find the Pokémon, and challenge it to a battle!" He said, raising his fist in the air. "But you guys should probably get signed up for the contest here before it's too late."

"Yeah, I need to sign up for the Johto Contests in general as well," Dawn added. We headed for the Contest Center to sign up.

"The Contest will start at 10 in the morning tomorrow," The woman at the desk said. We left the center and found a place to eat. We all let out our Pokémon and gave them their Pokémon food, except for Gengar who got a plate of fries.

"So Dawn, who are you gonna use for this contest?" Ash asked.

"I think I'm gonna use Pachirisu and Buneary..." Dawn said. An idea popped into my head as she said that.

"What about you May?" Ash asked.

I snapped out of my trance, "Oh, Chikorita and Wartotle..." I said.

"It'll be awesome watching you both battle again." Ash said. "It'll be great battle!"

~(o'_'o)~

Ash's POV

"Alright Pikachu, Let's go!" I told my trusty companion. We were all settling into our temporary room at the Pokémon center.

"Pipikachu!" Pikachu replied.

"Wait, Ash where are you going?" May asked.

"I'm gonna try to find that Pokémon that was scaring people, remember?" I told her. "There seems to be something fishy about this and I'm gonna get to the bottom of it."

"Well I'm coming with you! It could be dangerous!" May said.

"Come on May, I'll be fine." I assured her.

"You weren't fine when Spearow attacked you!" she said, looking down at the ground. "I don't want anything like that to ever happen to you again."

She had a point. "Alright, fine. You can come." I told her. Her face brightened and smile spread across her face.

"Your not planning on leaving me behind are you?" Dawn said, she sounded slightly worried. "There is no way I'm staying here by myself!"

"You can come too Dawn. That's fine with me." I told her. We headed back to the lobby.

"So where did the Pokémon appear the most." I asked Nurse Joy.

"Around the Pokémon Acadamy..." Nurse Joy said. We made our way to the Pokémon Acadamy. The sun had set and it was completely dark out.

"Wow, this sure brings back memories, right Pikachu?" I asked.

"Piikaaa," Pikachu responded slowly. We reached the familiar school which was closed for the night. We all sat down in front of it, leaning against the wall. I didn't really have a plan on finding this Pokémon, I figured that it would find me. I let out Gible so that he could stretch his legs and get ready to fight if time ever came. We sat there for a while but nothing happened. After a few hours, I started feeling tired, May and Dawn were obviously as well. They were shaking their heads and occasionally walking around, trying their best to stay awake. I accidentally dozed of for about a minute before May shook me. Pikachu and Gible both were perched on my shoulders, ready for anything, but even they started rocking back and forth in sleepiness.

"May, what time is it?" I asked.

"Two in the morning..." She responded quietly. She rested her head on my shoulder and yawned.

"Your not planning on falling asleep are you?" I asked. She quickly sat up.

"Of course not," May said.

"Hey Pikachu..." I began "... Could you give me a light thunder bolt (yawn) I'm not how much longer I can last." I got no response. I crane my head to look at Pikachu, he had fallen asleep on my shoulder. I turned and looked my other shoulder, Gible was fast asleep too. My vision started getting blurry

"I'm just not cut out for late nights," I said as, everything went black and I fell into a peaceful sleep.

~(o'-'o)~

May's POV

It wasn't long after I found that Ash was a asleep that I fell asleep myself. When I woke up, I felt stiff. I was lying on the ground, using Ash'd legs as a pillow. Ash himself was still fast asleep leaning against the wall of the Acadamy, Pikachu and Gible sleeping in his shoulders. Dawn was pretty much sleeping the same way I was, but on the opposite side of Ash. I shoved her head off his legs and let it fall to the ground. I was enjoying the moment, when I heard someone mumble:

"What time is it?"

Out of habit, I automatically checked the time. It was 9:45.

"9:45!"

I leapt out of my position and started shaking Ash. "Come on Ash! We gotta go NOW!" in the process of me shaking him. I knocked Pikachu and Gible off Ash's shoulders, waking them both up.

"Pikachu, could you give Ash a thunder bolt?" I asked. I didn't really want to do it, but I knew it was necessary.

"Pika?" Pinang tilted his head, obviously confused.

"Please Pikachu! If you don't we'll be late for the contest. Pikachu understood, and gave Ash a shock.

"PiiikaaaCHHUUUUU!"

"YOW! WHAT'S GOING ON! PIKACHU WHAT WAS THAT FOR!" Ash shouted as he jumped in the air. He had several burn marks and his hair was sticking up. Dawn woke from all the commotion.

"What's going?" She asked, rubbing her eyes.

"It's 9:45!" I said.

"Whoa! We're gonna be late!" Dawn shouted. We both grabbed Ash by his arms, Dawn picked up Pikachu in one arm and I picked up Gible. We all raced to the Contest Hall get ready. We had to work fast to be ready on time. While I was preparing myself and my Pokémon for the contest, I remembered the idea I had to get revenge on Dawn for the prank she pulled the other day. I looked around the contest hall and found Ash, he had let out all of his Pokémon and was side tracked talking to another trainer. Perfect, he was gonna make this easy for me. I got Gengar's attention without anyone noticing. He happily floated up and sat on my head.

"Okay Gengar," I told him as we walked down the hall, I stopped in front of the room Dawn was preparing herself in. "I want you to go in there and give Dawn the biggest scare of her life!" Gengar happily nodded and floated through the wall. I was surprised that I didn't need to bribe him or anything. I peeked through the door, Buneary and Pachirisu were nibbling on some poffins, Dawn's back was facing were I figured Gengar would appear.

"Oh, no," I said to myself, "She won't even notice him. Suddenly Gengar burst out of the wall using the most amazing Astonish Attack I had ever seen in my life, it freaked me out even though I was expecting it. Gengar's scare didn't have the effect I thought it would. Dawn didn't seem to notice Gengar at all, but Pachirisu did, and out of no where it started freaking out and released it's Discharge Attack like crazy. Lightning flew everywhere, Gengar flew out of the room safely, and I had to close the door to avoid getting hit. Gengar flew by me and I raced down the hall.

~(o'-'o)~

Ash's POV

Me and my Pokémon all sat in the stands waiting for the contest to start, Gengar had disappeared for a few minutes, which worried me, because he could of been causing trouble, but he quickly returned.

"Alright!" The Announcer shouted, "Who's ready to get started?" The crowd's roar was deafening, they sure were excited about this. The first few coordinators came out, showing off their appeal. Some were awesome, and others were a joke. Finally it was Dawn's turn.

"Alright everyone, give a huge round of applause to Dawn!" The crowd cheered, but Dawn didn't enter the stage.

"Dawn?" The announcer repeated. After waiting a few seconds the announcer said "If you don't appear, you will be disqualified." but Dawn never showed up. She was disqualified, and they moved on to May's appeal, as she entered she had a confused look on her face, she obviously didn't know what was wrong with Dawn either. After showing off her appeal with Wartortle, me and my Pokémon raced down to where all the coordinators were.

"May, where's Dawn?" I asked. She shrugged her shoulders. I raced around looking for Dawn, I even had my Pokémon split up to cover more ground. While I was searching part of one of the dressing rooms, Gible approached me and tugged on my pant leg. After grabbing my attention, he raced out of the room. I followed him down the hall and outside, he rounded the corner and headed behind the Contest Hall.

"Now where could he be taking me?" I thought out loud. I rounded the corner and found Dawn sitting on the ground, arms wrapped around her legs and face buried behind them.

"D-Dawn?" I stuttered. I didn't really know what to say. She didn't even look up at me. I walked over to her and sat down next to her, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"What's wrong?" She finally looked up at me. I saw her face was drenched and stained with tears, her hair was standing up, and her had burn marks all over her.

"A series of unfortunate events..." was all she said.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked.

She sniffed a few time, trying to calm down. "Pachirisu freaked out for some reason... He used his Discharge attack pretty vigorously..." she sniffed a few times again "It was at the last minute too, it messed up my hair and gave her these awful marks."

"Is that why you didn't come out for the contest?" I asked.

She nodded, "but it gets worse, several people saw me like this and started laughing," she broke down again. I really felt bad for her, and Gible must of too because he hopped of her shoulder and patted her on the head. She looked at me and Gible, forcing a smile.

"Thanks for being here for me..." She said quietly. I stood up gave her a hand and helped her stand up. Gible hopped off her shoulder onto mine.

"Why don't you go to the Pokémon Center and clean up?" I told her. She nodded and walked off. I headed back into the Contest Hall, rounded up my other Pokémon who were still looking for Dawn, And sat back down to watch the rest of the contest. It was the final round; May verses someone who went by the name Jessilina.

"Let's Go Woobat!" Jessilina sang.

"Alright, I'll use-" May began, but before she could finish, Gengar jumped from his place next to Pikachu in the stands, onto the battle field.

"G-Gengar?" May was taken by surprise.

"Gengar, what are you doing?" I shouted. Gengar looked at May, who eventually smiled and nodded. "Alright Gengar! Let's show them what you're made of."

"Alright Woobat! Use Gust!" Jessilina told it. The Woobat began flapping it's wings hard. Dust flew up and wind blew everywhere.

"Float above the dust and use Shadow Punch!" May commanded Gengar, Who shot up and out of the dust before using Shadow Punch. Although you couldn't see it, it was apparent Woobat had been hit as it yelled out and the dust subsided.

"It's a good thing May watched Gengar battle, otherwise she wouldn't know what to do with him." I told Pikachu, who nodded in agreement. I looked at the score board, Jessilina was taken the toll for Woobat getting hit, and Gengar dodging Gust.

"Woobat! Use Air Slash!" Jessilina commanded. Woobat's wings began to glow and attacked, which hit Gengar pretty hard he fell to the ground on his face.

"Gengar? Are you okay?" May asked the Shadow Pokémon. Gengar got up and growled at Woobat.

"Use Dream Eater!" May told it, Gengar glanced at her confused for a second, but quickly obeyed. But the attack failed. May's points lowered a bit.

"Wait, what happened?" Ma asked.

"May! Dream Eater won't work unless your opponent is Asleep!" I shouted, not sure if she could here me. But she must have because she nodded and said.

"Genger! Use Hypnosis!" Gengar proceeded, and Woobat fell asleep,

"Now use Dream Eater!" May shouted. Gengar raced at the sleeping Woobat, and attacked, taking a bunch of Woobat's health and regaining his own. Woobat laid on the ground, still asleep. Gengar stood on the ground clenching his fist, a few sparks emitting from it.

"Whoa, what's Gengar doing?" I asked myself. It looked like May was thinking the same thing. Gengar leapt into the air and slammed his fist into Woobat, Lightning flying everywhere.

"Whoa! That was Thunder Punch!" I said excitedly, I didn't know that Gengar could use that. Woobat was down for the count, so Gengar and May won. Jessilina returned Woobat, looking a little steamed, and marched off. May was given her ribbon and I met her in the lobby, Gengar had plopped himself on her head again.

"Thanks for letting me use Gengar, he was amazing." She said. Gengar leapt onto my shoulder, looked very proud with what he achieved.

"Thanks for showing off Thunder Punch, not even I knew he could do that." I told her, we all headed to the Pokémon Center.

~(o'-'o)~

May's POV

"So what happened to Dawn?" I asked. "She didn't come out when they announced her."

"Dawn's Pachirisu used Discharge attack for some reason and shocked Dawn, completely messing up her hair." Ash told me. I covered my mouth to try to keep from laughing.

"That's... that's too bad..." I said. I glanced at Gengar, who didn't seem to be paying any attention to the conversation.

"Yeah, a few people saw her and made fun of her also," Ash added, I snorted.

"Where is Dawn now?" I asked. If this conversation didn't end soon, I starting laughing would blow my and Gengar's cover.

"She went to the Pokémon Center to wash up. She should be finished by now..." Ash said.

We walked into the Pokémon Center Lobby, Ash almost immediately got side tracked and started talking to other trainers. I sighed and headed towards our room. I walked through the door and found Dawn sitting on her bed with Pachirisu in her lap. They both looked up at me, Dawn gave me a glare, and Pachirisu hid behind Dawn.

"Wait, what's Pachirisu afraid of," I asked looking around, and was surprise to see Gengar floating next to me. Gengar used astonish again, which freaked both Dawn and Pachirisu out, Pachirisu released a few sparkes of electricity again, making Dawn's hair stand on end. I couldn't help it; both Gengar and I fell on the floor laughing. Dawn must have realized I was the one responsible for earlier.

"You dirty little Bitch!" She shouted, I stopped laughing and looked at her. "You made Gengar scare the living shit out of Pachirisu, making it release its electricity!" Now Gengar stopped laughing, but he still had a big smile on his face.

"Yeah," I giggled, "And it worked better than I expected..." It looked like Dawn was about to attack me. But she stopped herself and said calmly:

"When I tell Ash, you're gonna be in so much trouble." she smirked and crossed her arms, head held high. She got up from the bed, passed me, went through the door and headed down the hall towards the lobby.

"If you do, I'll also tell Ash about that horrible prank you pulled two nights ago." I told her. Dawn stopped dead in her tracks. She turned around with a scowl on her face.

"How did you know about that?" She shouted.

"Brendan..." I said. I had told him that I wouldn't say anything about him telling me the truth. But we agreed I could spill the beans once we parted, I had just been waiting for the right moment. Dawn walked right up to me, we glared into each other's eyes. Out of nowhere, Dawn slapped me! So I slapped her back. We went back and forth for a few seconds, but stop immediately when we heard Ash coming our way in the distance.

"Come on Pikachu, let's find the others." Ash said. Dawn raced back into the room and into the bathroom, quickly turned on shower, probably fixing her hair a second time. Ash walked up to me. "What are you doing standing in the hallway?" He asked.

"Just thinking..." I lied.

Ash looked into our room, "oh, there you are Gengar..." He said. He walked into the room and heard the shower running.

"Is Dawn still refreshing herself?" Ash asked. I just shrugged my shoulders, Dawn had been ready until Gengar scared Pachirisu again, but I couldn't tell Ash that.

"Girls..." Ash mumbled under his breath, shaking his head. Ash laid down on his bed, still tired from last night. Pikachu and Gengar joined him. It reminded me just how tired I was as well. I also laid down in my bed, and quickly fell asleep.

~(o'-'o)~

Ash's POV

I was disturbed from my sleep by a grinning Gengar. He was standing on my stomach, looking down at me. I opened my eyes and glanced at him, and closed my eyes again. The weight on my chest disappeared, before slamming back down on me, I opened my eyes again, Gengar was jumping up and down on my stomach.

"Okay, Okay! I'm getting up." I looked around the room, Dawn and May were nowhere to be seen, even Pikachu was gone, it was just me and Gengar. Gengar motioned for me to follow him, I raced after him down the hall and into the Pokémon Center Café, where Pikachu, May, Dawn, and their Pokémon were eating.

May looked over at me, "Oh, I see Gengar was able to wake you up." She said.

"Gengar! Gengar!" The Shadow Pokémon said cheerfully. I sat down and ordered my meal, Gengar sat down by the plate of French fries May had ordered him.

"Shouldn't you give Gengar a little more variety?" Dawn asked. I looked over at Gengar.

"Well, he seems to have no problem with it, it's just that I don't know what to feed him when we travel." I told her.

"Speaking of which, where are we going next?" May asked.

"That's easy," someone said. "If you want to get your first Battle Froniter Symbol, you'll have to look around Route 32." Scott said as he walked up to us.

"Hey Scott," I said.

"Hey everyone," Scott said. "So Ash, you looking forward to your next battle?"

"You bet!" I said, "But, what do you mean when you say 'Look around Route 32?'"

"You gotta find the Battle Factory, Ash. It's not in plain sight like the rest of the Battle Facilities." Scott answered. "It's all part of adding to the challenge."

Scott turned away, "See you guys around." he said as he walked away. I stood up quickly, my fist in the air.

"Well you heard him you guys! We better get moving!" I said, Pikachu hopped up and copied my position.

"After we pay the bill," May said, I sweat-dropped.

~(o'-'o)~

May's POV

"Ash... Can we take break?" I whined. We had been searching around Route 32 for hours. My legs seriously felt like they could fall off.

"Come on May, it can't be that bad." Ash protested.

"Yes, actually, it can!" I said grumpily.

"Well why don't you just stay here, Ash and I will look around by ourselves." Dawn suggested. I shot her a glare.

"Ash you wouldn't leave me here by myself, would you?" I asked. I knew that doing that would put him in a tough spot; he would have to choose between me or more searching. Ash was obviously having a hard time choosing.

"Er... Uh... Oh fine! We can take a break!" he said. It touched me that he cared enough to stop for a while. He plopped down on the ground next to me. Dawn just stood there and looked at him in disbelief.

"Well, I'll find the Battle Factory from the sky, come out Togikiss!" Dawn released the huge normal/flying type.

"Hey, that's a great idea Dawn!" Ash said. Dawn got on Togikiss and flew into the sky. After Dawn left, me and Ash sat in silence.

"Let me check on your arm," I told Ash, reaching for his bandaged arm. Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder and watched me unwrap it.

"Pikachu!" he said happily as I finished.

"Wow Ash, your armed healed really fast." I told him. He bent it and moved it around a little. The scratches and marks his old Spearow left were now gone.

"Whoa, your right May." Ash told me. He looked up at me and smiled. "Thanks for taking care of my arm, it's great to have a friend like you." he said, my face heated up as I blushed.

"May, are you feeling okay? Your face is all red." Ash said as he placed his hand on my forehead, feeling to see if I had a temperature. This just made me blush even more.

"PikaPikachu?" Pikachu added, showing his concern, as well as a little confusion. I was amazed, those two were so dense, and maybe for my own good.

"I-I'm fine Ash, thanks." I told him. He moved his hand and my face started to cool down, the blush disappeared almost immediately. Pikachu cocked his head at me, a hint of confusion and suspicion on his face.

Dawn and Togikiss swooped down to the ground; Dawn hopped of Togikiss and returned it. "We found it!" She exclaimed happily, pride written all over her face.

"Dawn, that's great!" Ash said, "Thanks, you're the best!" the sentence stung, my heart sank, and I got a bit jealous. If only I had a huge flying type! I shook my head, trying to get the thoughts out if my head. I looked up and Pikachu was sitting in Ash's shoulder again, but he was still looking at me oddly.

Dawn lead the way through the forest, marching straight ahead. Ash and Pikachu were close behind, and I trailed behind Ash. Ash was excited about his next battle, and was talking to Pikachu about it. Dawn and her Piplup were also talking about something. I felt I should talk to my Pokémon a little too, so I called out Chikorita. I picked him up and placed him on my shoulder. We talked about a few things, like our next contest and what not. But Chikorita must have seen that something else was on my mind.

"Chikorita?" it asked.

"Oh don't worry, nothing's wrong..." I told him.

"Chik." he was not convinced.

"No really, everything is fine!"

"Korita..."

"What do you mean I'm jealous? I'm not the least bit... Okay... Maybe I'm a little jealous..." I admitted. We all continued through the forest for a while, eventually reaching the edge, revealing a huge factory.

"Told you I found it." Dawn said. I just rolled my eyes.

"Whoa, it's even bigger than I expected." Ash said. We all walked into the building, which had conveyor belts and gears everywhere. We found Scott talking to another man. The man had light skin, green shorts, blue and black shoes, white long-sleeve shirt covered by a black vest and a blue tie hanging from his neck. He also has an odd green and black hat, and droopy eye lids.

"Ash, I see you found the Battle Factory." Scott said, "I'd like you to meet Thorton, the Factory head of the Battle Tower." Scott gestured towards the man he was talking to.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all." Thorton said.

"Hi, I'm Ash," Ash said. "And this is Pikachu."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu added.

"I'm May," I said.

"And I'm Dawn." Dawn concluded.

"Thorton, I'm here to challenge you to a battle!" Ash said confidently.

"Challenge accepted Ash." Thorton replied, "Let's start right away," We walked through a door and entered a gigantic circular room. I noticed Thorton was playing with a blue device, occasionally pressing a few buttons and reading what ever was on the screen.

"So Ash, He said, you have a Pikachu, Totodile, Gible, and Gengar?" Thorton asked. Ash stopped in his tracks

"How did you know?" Ash asked. Thorton held up the blue device I saw him using before.

"This device tells me what Pokémon you have," He said. "To be fair, I'm using a Venusaur, Blastoise, and Charizard."

"The main challenge here at the Battle Factory is thinking ahead, that's why you both know about each other's Pokémon ahead of time." Scott explained. It sounded hard, but from what I had seen Ash accomplish in the past, I knew he would do fine. I looked around and found that Dawn was missing.

"Where's Dawn?" I asked Ash, who looked around as well.

"She probably getting ready." Ash said.

"Getting ready for what?" I asked.

"You'll see." Ash told me. Ash and Thorton got into their positions on the battle field, Pikachu confidently sitting on Ash's shoulder. I couldn't help but admire his courage, if I were in his shoes; I would have been shaking with nervousness. Then Dawn came out, she was wearing a red cheerleader uniform.

"What are you doing?" I asked her.

"Cheering for Ash and his Pokémon." Dawn replied in a matter-of-fact tone. I thought a moment, why had I never thought of doing that? I huffed and crossed my arms. If this was round of a battle, me verses Dawn battling to please Ash, Dawn would have won with flying colors. The referee took his place up at the stands

"This will be a three on three battle, the battle will be over if either side is out of Pokémon, only the Challenger is allowed substitutions." The referee said.

"You can do this Ash!" Dawn called out.

"Let the battle begin!" The referee said.

"Blastoise, let's beat 'em!" Throton exclaimed.

"Alright then! Totodile, I choose you!" Ash called out.

"What?" everyone in the room exclaimed.

"Why, would he pick a small water type like Totodile against a huge, fully evolved water type? Poor Totodile will get crushed." I said, slightly worried.

"I think what Ash's doing is trying to conquer through speed, as well as surprise." Scott explained.

"I hope it works." I said.

"Let's start this off," Thorton said. "Blastoise, use Focus Punch."

"Totodile, Dodge and use scratch." Ash said, Totodile jumped aside out of the way just in time, and scratched Blastoise in the face. Blastoise rubbed his face were he had been scratched.

"I'm sure Scratch attack is a much more effective move when used in a sensitive spot, like his face. Typical Ash: always thinking." Scott said, I smiled and shook my head in agreement.

"Great job Ash! Keep it up!" Dawn said, doing her little cheer routine. Ash stood confidently and on the other side, Thorton stood with his arms crossed, thinking thoughtfully.

"This is where thinking ahead is extremely important." Scott told me.

"Blastoise, use Focus Punch again." Blastoise lunged at Totodile.

"Jump over him and use Bite!" Ash said. As Blastoise raced at Totodile, Totodile hopped into the air and bit down on Blastoise.

"Blastoise, jump in the air and use Rapid Spin to get him off." Thorton said. Blastoise jumped high in the air, and began spinning fast.

"Hydro Pump Totodile!" Ash said.

"I didn't know Totodile knew that attack," I said. A powerful pillar off water shot out and slammed into Blastoise, the pressure forced him downward and he slammed into the ground. Totodile stopped Hydro Pump and began to fall.

"Totodile, use Skull Bash!" Ash said. Totodile aimed his head downward and slammed into Blastoise with a bang. The dust from the attacks fell and Blastoise laid on the ground, knocked out.

"Blastoise is unable to battle, the winner of this round is Ash!" The referee said.

"Alright Ash!" Dawn said.

"You were amazing Totodile!" Ash said, Totodile looked a little wobbly.

"What's wrong with Totodile?" I asked Scott.

"I think that Skull Bash from the air might have been too much for him." Scott said.

"I must say Ash," Thorton said, "I am impressed that your little Totodile was able to take out my Blastoise. You have an impressive strategy as well as an amazing Pokémon." Totodile blushed and scratched the back if his head, but he still was wobbling.

"But this Battle is far from over!" Thorton said. "Let's go! Charizard!"

"I would have thought Charizard would be saved for last. Plus there's a type disadvantage," I said.

"Yes, but remember, Thorton his thinking ahead, let's see what if Ash can catch on and keep up." Scott said.

"You can take him Ash!" Dawn shouted.

"Thorton doesn't want Ash to recall Totodile, and give him time to recover from that skull bash, he's gonna take him out now." Scott explained.

"Charizard! Steel Wing!" Thorton said. Charizard's wings lit up and he charged at Totodile.

"Dodge it, Totodile." Ash said. but Totodile was still trying to recover from the Skull Bash, and Charizard slammed into him, sending him into the wall. Totodile fell over knocked out.

"Totodile is unable to battle!" The referee said.

"Totodile, return!" Ash said, he returned Totodile to his Pokéball and smiled. "You were incredible out there." He said. Ash pulled out his next Pokémon.

"Gible, I choose you!" He shouted, The dragon type appeared out of his ball, looking ready to fight.

"Steel wing again , Charizard!" Thorton said.

"Jump to the side, and use Rock Smash." Ash said.

"Not this time, Charizard, grab Gible as he jumps away." Thorton said. Sure enough, as Gible tried to dodge, Charizard grabbed him.

"Now use Seismic Toss!" Thorton said. Charizard flew high into the air with Gible, before slamming down into the ground with him. The dust settled and Gible was barley standing.

"Gible! Can you go on?" Ash asked. Gible turned and looked at him and nodded.

"Alright then, let's use Dig!" Ash said. Gible quickly dug under ground.

"Charizard, use Overheat into the hole." Thorton said. Charizard ran next to the hole, and shot hot flames into it.

"Gible! No!" Ash shouted. Gible shot out if the ground, right out from underneath Charizard, successfully completing the move. But the Overheat Charizard had shot burst out of the hole Gible had just came out of, and they both were caught in the flames. Overheat ended, and Charizard was barely standing. Gible was knocked out.

"Gible is unable to battle!" The referee said.

Ash returned Gible, "Great job out there Gible," He said, "Take a nice long rest, I'm gonna finish what you started."

"Oh, no!" I said, "That Charizard is really strong!" I said. Will Ash be able to defeat Thorton?

~(o'-'o)~ 

**Yeah… I'm not good with cliff hangers… mostly because I just keep writing and don't determine where the end of the chapter should be. I seriously have 5 chapters after this that are complete. But grammar errors, procrastination, and good timing are what stall them.**

**I also want to thank everyone who review, they are the ones who make me want to continue this story. Keep Reviewing and sending ideas! Thanks a bunch!**


	7. Chapter 7: Going Too Far?

**Chapter 7: Going Too Far?**

**So I kind of took a break from everything, I have to read other stories and things like that for ideas and inspiration, not to copy what another writer did, but sometimes in my mind I think "Oh, well I would have done this instead" thus resulting me putting it in my story :D If you have epic ideas send them to me!**

**I Don't own Pokemon, please don't sue me -_-**

**~(o'-'o)~**

"Ash is in a tough spot." Scott said. "He could use Pikachu, whose electric attacks are super effective against Charizard, but when Venusaur is used, Thorton will have the advantage. But if he uses Gengar, he'll have a little more trouble fighting Charizard, and will be wiped out when he has to fight Venusaur." I though about what Scott said.

"Yeah... But doesn't Gengar know-" I started, but Ash called out his last Pokémon.

"Gengar! I choose you!" Ash shouted. The Ghost type appeared on the stage.

"Well, it looks like normal type attacks are no good, okay Charizard, use Steel Wing!" Thorton said.

"Gengar, wait until he gets close." Ash said, Gengar stood still ready for anything, Charizard closed in. "Use Thunder Punch!" Ash told him.

"What? Charizard, abort!" Thorton said, but it was too late, Gengar used a powerful Thunder Punch and hit Charizard right in the head. A flash of lightning appear and blinded us all for a moment. When we saw the result, Gengar was proudly standing on top of Charizard. Thorton returned Charizard with a surprised look on his face.

"Well Ash, you caught me by surprise there," Thorton said. "Looks like things are even. Venusaur, let's wrap this up." a gigantic Venusaur appeared on stage.

"Whoa, that's a big Venusaur." I said, even Ash looked surprised.

"Okay, Venusaur, use magical leaf!" Thorton said.

"Shadow Punch Gengar!" Ash said. Both attacks hit their marks hard.

"Venusaur is a big Pokémon, so it'll be slow. Hopefully Ash will take advantage if that." Scott said.

"Knowing Ash, he probably will," I said, Scott nodded in agreement.

"Venusaur, Use Magical Lead again!" Thorton said.

"Gengar, Double Team!" Ash told him. Gengar split up into several different Gengars, Magical leaf seemed to hit all of them but one.

"Venusaur, Vine Whip!" Thorton commanded, the Grass/Poison Type revealed its long whips, and snapped them at Gengar, but Gengar just disappeared.

"What?" shouted Thorton.

"That was just a fake Gangst from double team." I said surprised.

"Gengar, Shadow Ball at the stomach," Ash said. Thorton and Venusaur frantically looked around trying to find Gengar. I knew were he was, right under Venusaur. Venusaur grimaced as an explosion from the Shadow Ball erupted under him, flipping him over and leaving him helpless. Venusaur struggled to try to get back on his feet.

"Now use Hypnosis, and then Dream Eater." Ash said. Gengar quickly put Venusaur asleep, and charged at him, flying through him. The attack obviously did damage, Venusaur flipped over again from impact and was knocked out.

"Venusaur is unable to battle, the victory if this match goes to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town and his Gengar!" the referee exclaimed. Thorton returned his Pokémon, looking satisfied. Ash released the Pokémon he had used during the battle, which was all but Pikachu, who had stayed by Ash's side the entire battle.

"You guys, we all won!" Ash exclaimed, his Pokémon all looked excited. Thorton walked over to Ash and handed him what looked like a certificate.

"Congratulations Ash, you have won yourself the commemorative print of the Battle Factory." Thorton said, handing Ash the commemorative print.

"Alright!" Ash said spinning around, "I got... the Gold Factory Print!" he said excitedly jumping in the air, his Pokémon doing the same striking their own pose.

"Congratulations Ash!" Dawn said, racing over to him and embracing him, "You were amazing." she finished. Ash returned the embrace.

"Thanks Dawn." he said. The whole scene kind of ticked me off, so without even thinking, I pulled Dawn away from Ash, and gave him my own hug.

"You did great, as always. I'm sure you'll have all the other Battle Prints in no time." I assured him. I looked around. Dawn was glaring at me, Scott and Thorton were talking, and Totodile, Gible, and Gengar were talking, and Pikachu, was again, looking at me, his head was cocked a bit and he had an odd look on his face.

Ash returned the embrace and said "Thanks May." I let go of him blushing like mad, but Ash didn't notice, he was busy admiring his new Print. It was shiny and golden, and had a picture of the Factory, Thorton, and Ash with Pikachu on it.

Scott walked over to us and asked, "Where you planning on heading next Ash?"

I answered for him, "Alzalea Town for my next contest!" I said.

"And mine." Dawn added.

"Okay, good luck to the both of you, see you around Ash, your next battle will challenge your knowledge of Pokémon, so study up."

"Where's Max when you need him?" Ash asked himself. After saying goodbye to Thorton, we left the Battle Factory, and found that it was getting late.

"We'll trying to make as much progress as possible, and then we'll find a place to camp," Ash us.

"Right," I said

"Sounds Good!" Dawn replied.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu added. We made a little progress down Route 32 but eventually it got too dark to travel, and we set up camp.

"May, can you get some fire wood?" Ash asked. I nodded and headed into the forest, it was getting a little dark, so it was hard to find wood. The whole time I was looking for wood, I felt like I was being watched. I found enough wood for a campfire and made my way back. A bush ahead of me rustled, I froze, Ash's Pikachu stumbled out of the bush, and glanced around before running up to me.

"Chuchupi!" he said running up to me. He hopped on the load of wood I was carrying in my arms and stared into my eyes, he had what looked like a small smirk.

"Chuchupi kapika Pika pi?" He asked.

"Sorry Pikachu," I said, "I can't understand you like Ash can..." Pikachu face-palmed.

"ChuchuPi..." He said motioning at me.

"kapika..." he made a weird gesture.

"Pika pi..." he finished. I knew that 'Pika Pi' meant Ash. But I couldn't figure out the rest. I shrugged my shoulders, showing I still didn't understand, causing Pikachu face-palmed again.

"ChuChuPi," I said, he pointed at me "ChuChuPi..." He repeated stilling pointed at me.

"I'm 'ChuchuPi'?" I asked. Pikachu shook his head. I smiled at him, Pikachu had finally given me a name.

"Okay, so what does Kapika mean?" I asked. Pikachu stuck his little arms out and made a heart shape with his fingers and thumb, I gulped.

"You're asking if I love Ash?" I asked, Pikachu nodded. I sighed, I hadn't planned on telling anyone besides my Pokémon, and of course Dawn knew. But Pikachu could see right through me, I sighed again.

"Yes." I said, refusing to look into Pikachu's eyes. "But don't tell anybody, not even Ash!" I told him Pikachu nodded in agreement. In a way, I felt like I had just gotten a load off my chest. Me and Pikachu made our way back to the camp, found Ash and Dawn unhappily sitting in the dark.

"What took you so long?" Dawn asked with a huff. I just shrugged; Pikachu hopped off me and ran back to Ash, lying down on his lap. I set up the wood and Blaziken started a fire. As light spread across the camp, I saw the sleeping bags had been set up, and the Pokémon food had been set out. We all sat around the campfire on silence, that is until Ash stomach began to growl.

"Uh ho," He said, "Looks like we may need to look around for more berries,"

Dawn began digging through her pack, "Don't worry," she said, "I kept some of the berries we found a couple of nights ago." she handed the bag to Ash, who took a few berries before handing the bag to me, I took a berry, and handed it back to Dawn, who snatched it from my hand. I ate the berry going deep into thought. Here we go again, Dawn to the rescue. Honestly, I would be surprised if Ash liked her more than he did me already. I sighed for the umpteenth time that day.

"Is something wrong, May?" Ash asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"What? Oh is just... I Have a lot on my mind..." I said.

"If you ever want to talk about it, I'm all ears..." He said. How sweet, he was always so caring. I nodded and went over to my sleeping bag, and quickly fell asleep.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May POV**

This was the part of the trip I had been dreading, Union Cave. When I traveled through Johto the first time, this was the only time I agreed to travel with Drew. I was not fond of the idea of having to go through a cave to get to Azalea Town, but Drew had invited me along, just like he did every single time we met. Normally I would politely say no, but because of Union Cave, I had made an exception. He held my hand the whole way through that terrible cave, which I found was awkward. As we talked about different things and what not, I realized that he liked me, but more than just a friendly rival, more like he loved me.

When we did finally get out of the cave, I let go if Drew's hand and raced off without even saying a word. I knew it wasn't the proper thing to do, I should have thanked him for the company, but instead I ran all the way to Azalea Town. I didn't even bother sticking around for the contest being held there, I just continued to make my way to Goldenrod City. I hadn't seen Drew again until the Grand Festival. He was happy to see me, a little too happy. He came right up to me and embraced me, which I never remembered Drew doing. He had even asked if I wanted to do something later, as if he was asking for a date.

During the rest of the Grand Festival, I tried my best to avoid him. I almost got disqualified for being late or one of my battles because I had to take the long cut to the stage to avoid him. In the end, Drew lost to Harley after the battle I just stood there watching them as Harley rubbed Drew's defeat in his face. I didn't even bother standing up or defending Drew, I just watched. Drew stormed off, I didn't see him for a few days. The day I lost to Solidad was the day he reappeared. I was crying in the Coordinator room, Harley had come in and just rubbed my defeat in my face. I had no one to go to. Drew came though; he sat down next to me and comforted me, the complete opposite of what I did, which made me feel bad. He didn't touch me, or even look directly at me, he just talked to me.

I finally thanked him for everything he had done for me, and apologized or not being a good friend. He ruffled my hair, which wasn't under a bandana at the moment, and walked away. I couldn't believe he would stand up for me, even though I never stood up for him.

"May?"

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked up. "Hu? What?" I said confused. I saw Ash standing in front of me, Dawn behind him, impatiently tapping her foot.

"You zoned out..." Ash said. Both him and Pikachu had concerned looks on their faces, "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked, repeating the question from last night.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." I told him, "This cave just brings back memories..." I said looking at the cave entrance.

"Good or bad memories?" Ash asked. There was a short silence.

"Both..." I said quietly.

"If you really don't want to go through the cave, we can get to Azalea Town another way, but it will take a lot longer." Ash said.

"WHAT?" Dawn shouted.

"N-no Ash. It's fine..." I said. Ash just shrugged and entered the cave, Dawn and I both close behind him. We all walked in silence, which made things even worse, the cave was quiet, gloomy, creepy... As we made our way through the cave, an occasional Zubat would fly by, making me jump. The cave became black, pitch black, I couldn't see anything, I had to try to listen to Ash and Dawn's footsteps to get around. I finally asked:

"Ash, how much farther?" There was no response. "Ash?" I called out...

"Pikachu?" Dread and fear began to take over, I was stuck in a cave, with no light, I couldn't see a thing. I was lost, I didn't have any food, and there was the possibility that a wild Pokémon would attack me. This was a situation that not even my Pokémon couldn't help me with.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Ash's POV**

"Hey! I see the exit!" I called out.

"Thank goodness..." Dawn said. We ran towards the light, and quickly exited the cave. I had to squint my eyes because they were still getting used to the sun.

"See May? Everything went fine..." I said, but there was no response.

"May?" My eyes finally were used to the bright sun. Pikachu and I looked around.

"ChuchuPi!" Pikachu called out.

"She must have gotten lost in the cave!" I said. "Dawn, you say here, I'm going to find May." I said. I ran into the cave again with Pikachu on my shoulder. We got deeper into the cave, and I realized I couldn't see a thing. I grabbed one of my Pokéballs and sent out my Pokémon.

"Gengar!" The Shadow Pokémon exclaimed as he was released. His eyes glowed red as he looked at me.

"Gengar, you can see in the dark, right? I need you to help me find May." I told him. The red eye's blinked twice, I felt Gengar grab the collar of my jacket and pull me forward. Gengar directed me and Pikachu around the cave for a while, but eventually stopped pulling me and let go of my collar. Me, Pikachu, and Gengar stood in silence for a few seconds. As we waited, I heard soft, muffled sobbing to my right.

"May?" I called out. I sobbing stopped.

"A-Ash?" a voice responded, it sounded like May. I walked towards were I heard the voice, eventually bumping into May. Almost immediately, May hugged me tightly, resting her head on my shoulder.

"Ash!" She exclaimed. Her entire body was shaking. Within seconds, I could feel tears begin to dampen my jacket. Jeez, girls can be so emotional.

"I'm so glad you came back..." she said.

"What? You didn't think I would come back? You're my friend, May, I wouldn't just forget you!" I said.

May chuckled a little bit, "Yeah," she said, "I guess I shouldn't have doubted my best friend..."

_My Best Friend..._

Those last three words rang in my head, her best friend? Me? May and I had known each other for a long time, but I would have never guessed that she considered me her "Best friend." None the less, the fact she said that filled me with pride. I hugged her tightly.

"I would never leave my 'Best Friend' behind," I said. I could feel Pikachu heat up a little on my shoulder, and in the dark, I few cracks of sparks appeared lighting up a jealous filled face.

"Second best friend," I corrected myself. Pikachu would always be my best bud, no matter what happened. Pikachu immediately calmed down, and rubbed his face on my cheek.

"Chaaaaaaa..." he cooed. Gengar's glowing red eyes also grew a little glum.

"Third best friend..." I sighed... Gengar's eyes immediately turned cheery again, May let out a little giggle. Gengar lead the way out of the cave, Pikachu sat on his usual spot on my shoulder, and May was tightly holding onto my arm. We reached the exit, and May happily broke into a run, but that didn't mean she let go of me. She dragged me and Pikachu out the exit by my arm. Dawn was still waiting for us outside. I pulled out Gengar's Pokéball.

"Thanks for the help Gengar, now take a nice rest." I said. Gengar avoided the beam from the Pokéball and hid behind May, who giggled.

"Looks my your 'Second Best Friend' want to stay out of his Pokéball now..." May said. I sighed.

"Gengar is that true?" I asked, he nodded in response. "Alright then. Okay you guys, time's a-wasten, let's get to Azalea Town." With that Gengar hopped on my shoulder that was opposite to Pikachu, and we headed down the road.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

It got late so we couldn't make it to Azalea Town that night.

"If only a certain coordinator hadn't gotten herself lost in a cave..." Dawn grumbled. "I could have taken a shower tonight and slept in a warm bed." although it irritated me that she complained like that, I knew she was right, even though Ash had told me it wasn't my fault. We ate the last of our berries that night, and our Pokémon food supply was running dangerously low. Ash said we would make it to Azalea Town tomorrow without any trouble. That night, we slept around the campfire peacefully, at least, after me and Dawn had a death glare staring contest. It felt so childish, but I wasn't just going to let her stare at me the way she did. So I glared back, we must have glared at each other for an hour, but the second Ash's began to stir in his sleeping bag, we both immediately pretended to be asleep.

In the middle of the night, I could have swore I heard something moving around and leaving the camp, but I was so tired, I never bothered to open my eye's and look.

~(o'-'o)~

May's POV

We finally made it to Azalea Town, and I was wiped out. We made our way to the Pokémon Center, were we found Nurse Joy and several other trainers. They all were fairly quiet and tense, similar to Violet City. We walked up to the counter were Nurse Joy was standing.

"Nurse Joy, what's going on around here?" Ash asked.

"Oh it was horrible," Nurse Joy began. "A mysterious Pokémon terrorized the town last night, so many people and Pokémon were horrified. During the same night, hundreds of Pokémon belonging to trainers were reported missing..."

"That's exactly what the Nurse Joy in Violet City said." Dawn stated.

"We stayed up-" Ash said.

"Tried to stay up..." I corrected him, He sweat-dropped.

"Yeah... But the Pokémon didn't reappear the next night..." Ash said, "We need to stop this Pokémon and get the missing Pokémon back! The two have to be connected; this looks like a job for Ash's Detective Agency!" I sweat-dropped, the last time he said that was in hidden ruins were we found the spirit of the Ocean King.

"But first we have to sign up for our contest." Dawn said simply, causing Ash to sweat-drop again. We headed to the contest hall were we signed up for the contests and registered our Pokémon. Jessilina, the older coordinator I had beaten during the last contest, busted into the contest hall and managed to sign up just in time. She looked in our direction and glared at me.

"Hello twerp..." She said. "This contest you're not going to be so lucky with your little Gengar," She said, motioning to the Gengar who floated between me and Ash. "This time around, I'm going to win!" she finished; she twirled around and walked away. I noticed Gengar watching her closely.

"Don't let her bug you May," Ash said. "Just ignore her and beat her later..." The contest being held wasn't until tomorrow, so we decided to have a look around. The most interesting thing we saw was Slowpoke well, where we could find tons of Slowpoke, in fact, there were quite a few Slowpoke wandering around the town, but they didn't seem like very intelligent Pokémon.

Even though Ash wanted to find out what was going on around the town, I managed to convince him to go to bed at a reasonable hour.

"Come on May, We managed to make it to the last contest on time." Ash protested.

"Barley," I said, "And I'm not letting it happen again," I blocked the door out of our room. Dawn just sat on her bed and watched us. There was a long awkward silence.

"Fine..." He said, but kept staring at the door. I watched him carefully, but he just shrugged and took off his hat, jacket, and shoes and went to bed, Dawn and I got into bed as well and we quickly fell asleep.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

I felt someone shaking me lightly.

"May..."

I turned my head away from the noise.

"Maaaaay..." The voice repeated my name.

I rolled over.

"MAY!" I leapt out on my bed and fell on the floor. I opened my eyes and saw Dawn standing over me, fully dressed. I turned my head towards the clock on the desk and saw that it was 6 in the morning.

"You have got to be kidding me..." I said, crawling back into bed. Dawn grabbed me and pulled me out of bed.

"May, don't you want to do a little practice before the contest? Dawn asked. I though about it, I was entering a contest, and if Dawn was practicing, I couldn't let her get ahead of me.

"Fine..." I grumbled and got ready to practice. Ash, Pikachu, and Gengar were all still fast asleep in Ash's bed. Me and Dawn walked out of the room and left the Pokémon Center.

"I found a great place to practice..." Dawn said. We made our way into a nearby forest. As we got deeper and deeper into the forest, I began to wonder: Why would Dawn invite me to her training? She doesn't want me to get better, it didn't make sense. Maybe she didn't want me to be alone with Ash. We finally made it into a small clearing, we stopped at the edge as we examined it. Suddenly, a fist flew into view and right at my face, it hit me hard and everything went black.

When I woke up, I was groggy and was seeing double. Dawn stood in front of me with a smirk on her face, and her hands on her hips. I tried to get up, but something was holding me down. My vision cleared and I looked around, I was tightly tied to a tree. My Pokéballs were far out of reach.

"Dawn! What are you doing?" I asked enraged, struggling to get free.

"I can't let you get in the way of me in this next contest, besides; this is payback for what you did to me at the last contest." She said, her smirk never leaving her face, "I'll come back for you later... Maybe..." with that, she turned around and left. I couldn't believe it; I was beginning to think that Dawn had lost her mind. I continued to struggle with the ropes, making no progress.  
><strong><br>****~(o'-'o)~******

**Ash's POV**

Me, Pikachu, and Gengar woke up and found our room empty, it was around 7 in the morning. I put on my hat, shoes, and jacket and then the three of us headed to the Pokémon Center Cafeteria. I asked Nurse Joy if anything had happened the previous night.

"No, everything was fine..." She said. We sat down and ate breakfast and were soon joined by Dawn, who was acting a little odd.

"Hey there you are Dawn! Do you know where May is?" I asked.

"What? Oh! I mean- why do you ask?" Dawn said, she seemed confused and worried.

"I'm just asking," I said.

"M-m-ma-May-May-May is... Uh... training! Yeah, that's it! Training..." She stuttered.

"Are you okay Dawn?" I asked.

"Yep!" she answered quickly. I just shrugged. We finished our breakfast.

"Do you know where May is training?" I asked Dawn.

"Uh, she said she wanted to train alone for now." Dawn said. "Hey, let's go to the Contest Hall so I can get ready..." she then suggested. I took a glance at the clock hanging on the wall near the entrance to the Pokémon Center.

"Dawn, it's only 8, the contest doesn't start for another two hours." I said, but none the less, she dragged me to the Contest Hall. I sat around and talked to a few trainers, some were talking about the Pokémon that scared everybody the other night, and others were talking about how they had lost their Pokéballs after being scared, it was so weird. I also decided to let out Totodile and Gible and let them stretch their legs, besides, they seemed to enjoy watching contests. It eventually drew closer to the start of the contest, it was 9:30. I was surprised that I killed so much time talking and playing with my Pokémon. I was also surprised to find Dawn still in her dressing room getting ready.

"You really need to take an hour and a half to get ready Dawn? I asked.

"Yes, I have to make sure me and my Pokémon look our best." Dawn replied, I looked around.

"Hey, has May arrived yet?" I asked. Dawn just shook her head. "She better hurry up if she wants to make it to the contest." I looked down at my Totodile, Gible, and Pikachu. "Hey, where's Gengar?"  
><strong><br>****~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

My back hurt from it constantly rubbing against the rough tree I was tied to. My arms were burning from rubbing against the rope, and I was beginning to panic. I was slightly claustrophobic, and it had finally started to kick in. I had been stuck tied against the tree for hours now. An occasional Pokémon would pass by and look at me, and I would beg it to try to cut the rope, but they would just move on. If only I could reach my Pokéballs. The sun had been beating down on me so I was also drenched with sweat.

"Dag-nab-it Dawn..." I said, "The least you could have done was tied me to the tree when it's cooler." I was beginning to lose it. I started to cry, but I couldn't wipe the tears away, I struggled and wiggled like a frustrated little child.

"Gengar?"

I stopped and looked up and found Ash's Gengar standing before me.

"Oh thank goodness," I said. "Gengar, can you cut the ropes?" I begged. Gengar was able to slice the ropes with a scratch attack. The second I was freed I embraced the Shadow Pokémon.

"Thank you," I told him, "You're so kind, just like Ash."

"Gen-gar," he replied proudly. I checked my PokéNav to see the time. It was a little after 10.

"I might still be able to make it in time for the Appeal Round" I told Gengar. I grabbed my Pokéballs and raced towards the Pokémon Center with Gengar close behind.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Ash's POV**

I had skipped most of the appeal round to search for Gengar, who was no where to be found. I did watch Dawn's appeal, she got enough points to get to the next round, that was for sure. Next was supposed to be May, and then we would go through the next round. But I hadn't seen May at all since yesterday, when she wouldn't let me try to figure out the Mystery Pokémon thing.

"And last but not least, the Princess of Hoenn, May from Petalburg city!" The announcer said. But May didn't come through the entrance. "May?" The Announcer said. "If you don't appear, you will be disqualified." May still didn't appear. "Due to being not showing up, May is disqualified!" The announcer said. Everybody looked a little bummed...

"Where is she?" I asked myself.

The score board showed the next round to contestants; Dawn's face appeared at the top.

"Wait!" Someone called out. Everyone turned to were the coordinators entered; May came sprinting out onto the stage, gasping for breath. "Am I... Too... Late?" May asked through her gasps, I notice Gengar floating next to her.

"We're sorry May, but you've already been disqualified." The Announcer explained.

"But..." May started.

"We're sorry, there is nothing we can do... Now please step away from the stage so we can continue." The Annoucer said. May's head hung low, she walked out of the contest hall.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

Me and Gengar both raced towards the Contest Hall. If I could get there fast enough, I could make it in time for my appeal. We burst through the doors and raced down the hall. I could hear the Announcer speaking in the background.

"And last but not least, the Princess of Hoenn, May from Petalburg city!"

I sped toward the entrance to the stage, but something hit me in the side and knocked me over. Dawn pinned me to the ground, I couldn't get up.

"May?" The Announcer said in the background.

"After what you did to me back in Violet City, I'm not letting you out there!" Dawn said.

""Due to being not showing up..." The announcer began.

"You started it with the warm water prank! Gengar, use Astonish!" I said

"...May is disqualified!"

I closed my eyes as Gengar use astonish, Dawn fell off of me and I quickly stood up, and ran toward the entrance to the stage again, praying that it really wasn't too late.

"Wait!" I shouted as I entered onto the stage. I didn't realize how tired I was, I bent over and put my hands on my knees for support "Am I... Too... Late?" I asked panting.

"We're sorry May, but you've already been disqualified." The Announcer explained.

"But..." I tried to say.

"We're sorry, there is nothing we can do... Now please step away from the stage so we can continue." the Announcer said. My heart sank; I glumly made my way out the Contest Hall. On the way out I saw Dawn.

"Remember, if you tell Ash, I have the dirt about you as well..." was all she said. There was nothing more that I wanted to do more than punch Dawn in the face at that moment. But I kept myself under control, at least until I was out of the Contest Hall. I stamped my foot and punched the wall, cursing Dawn with all my might. I kicked over a few trash cans, and at a bad time, Officer Jenny saw me and took me to what she called "Downtown."

I sat in a small cell, arms wrapped around my legs and face buried in my knees. How did it come to this? I lost my temper and now I was stuck in the local Police Station. All my things and Pokémon had been taken away.

"When Dawn hears about this... Oh... I don't even want to know..." I said out loud.

"We don't have to tell Dawn if you don't want to..." Someone said. I looked up. It was Ash, he had Pikachu and Gengar on his shoulders, a confused and concerned look plastered across his face.

"Is she the one?" Officer Jenny, who was standing next to him, asked.

"Yep, what exactly is she here for?" Ash asked.

"Vandalism..." was all Officer Jenny said. "It'll be 200 Pokédollars to bail her out." She finished. Ash gave her the money and she let me out, she returned my things and we walked out of the Police Station.

"Let me pay you back for bailing me out..." I said, digging through my pack for my wallet.

"Don't worry about it, I don't think you should have been treated like that just for knocking over a few trash cans on accident." he said.

"You saw that huh?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah, but it's no big deal." he said.

"Thank you, Ash..." I said.

"Hey, that's what Third best friends are for right?" He said jokingly. I laughed and smiled back at him.

"Yeah, definitely." I said back.

******~(o'-'o)~**

**Hope you liked it, please take a few seconds to Review, even if it's just a few words saying whether or not you like the story, it's what encourages me to continue writing this, and continue to write other stories when I finish this.**


	8. Chapter 8: A Fry Short of a Happy Meal

**Chapter Eight: A few Fries Short of a Happy Meal**

**Right off the bat I'd like to thank all those nice people who reviewed this story, it really encourages me. Thanks again to Bulbapidaa (probably spelt that wrong) for all the info, and anyone who sent ideas for the story, keep them coming**

**I just wanted to say, I don't hate Dawn's guts, or Drew for that matter. Even though I don't like some shippings, I still like characters. Oh, and Dawn will mellow down, I know it seemed like she was going crazy in the last chapter, but I saw some fan art and got an idea.**

**So yeah, and so with that *takes deep breath* I still don't own Pokemon.**

******~(o'-'o)~ A few people have been wondering what this is face is between sections, this is a lazy attempt to make a Pikachu face the little Os are his electric pouches, not a blush (That would be weird). And the ~ is electricity, (showing off my inner geek).******

**May's POV**

Dawn easily beat Jessilina in the final round of the contests. After that, we moved on through the Ilex forest and Route 34. The trip was fairly unpleasant, Ash, Pikachu, and Gengar all walked ahead of me and Dawn. When we knew Ash wasn't looking, one of us would step on the others foot or shove each other around. At one point Dawn tripped on a root, and fell on her hands and knees and I took the opportunity and stepped on her hand has I walked by, she grabbed my leg while it was still in reach and I also tumbled to the ground. As I got up and brushed myself off, Dawn knocked me into some bushes beside the path, with was filled with thorns, after painfully managing to get out a too the liberty kick Dawn into a puddle in the road. This continued entire day, when it got late, we stopped and set up camp.

"What the heck happened to you guy?" Ash asked. I looked down at my cloths, they were torn, drenched, and dirty, Dawn was the same.

"Oh, just a few mishaps..." I lied.

"Maybe you guys should wash up by the lake." Ash said, pointing down a hill, where there was river. "You guys, go ahead, I can set up the camp by myself." He stated. Me and Dawn grabbed new sets of cloths and headed down to the lake. The water was cool and clear. Dawn and I washed ourselves without saying a word, we dried off and got dress, before we continued up the hill, I finally broke the silence.

"Dawn, I don't want to do this anymore..." I told her. She looked at me a little surprised.

"You mean, you're giving up?" Dawn asked.

"No," I replied, "But I'm tired of this fighting, this whole trip through Johto so far has been a nightmare because of this conflict." Dawn just stared at me.

"So you've had enough?" She asked. I nodded my head, "You're such a lazy quiter."

"WHAT?" I shouted.

"You heard me." Dawn said, a smirk plastered on her face. We stood there facing each other by the side of the lake. Dawn was between me and the lake, it would have been so easy to push her in, she must have known that, but she didn't do anything about it.

"It's too perfect..." I thought to myself, "It must be a trap." I turned around and walk back up the hill, Ash was sitting next to the campfire poking the logs with a stick.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Dawn's POV**

"WHAT?" May shouted. At the sound of May shouting, Ash appeared at the top of the hill and looked down at us. I was standing between May and the edge of the river, if I could piss her off enough, she would push me into the river, and Ash would see the whole thing.

"You heard me." I told her quietly; to be sure Ash didn't hear what I said. May glared at me, and then to the river. But she just spun around and walked back up the hill, Ash disappeared behind the hill again.

"Hmph," I grumbled. I walked up the hill again and found Ash and May sitting by the campfire. Ash had let his Pokémon out and they were all playing together. I sighed and sat down near the campfire as well. After a few minutes of silence, Ash's stomach began to growl. I began to dig through my pack, but remember we had used up all the berries. I gulped, we were out of food.

"It's okay," Ash said uneasily, "We'll reach Goldenrod City by tomorrow."

"Oh, I'm starving..." May whined, I just rolled my eyes and kept my mouth shut. It was getting late so Ash returned Gible and Totodile, and we all went to sleep.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

I laid in my sleeping bag late into the night, thinking about Ash, Dawn, my Pokémon, and future contests, when I heard movement. I opened an eye to see what it was, Ash and Dawn were both still asleep, Pikachu was snuggled up next to Ash, but were was Gengar? I sat up just in time to watch him disappear into the woods. I quietly got out of my sleeping bag and followed him deep into the forest. As time went on my stomach growled again, we had to skip dinner. I sighed and continued to follow the unaware Gengar. I began to think about food and began to envision it: A big cheese burger with a side of fries, I could smell the freshly made French fries

I snapped back to my senses. I really could smell french fries, great, I was going crazy due to starvation. Gengar entered a clearing, I hid behind a tree so I wouldn't be seen, I peaked around and couldn't believe what I saw.

Team Rocket's balloon was sitting in the middle of a clearing; it looked like it was filled with bags of Pokéballs. James was holding a plate of french fries, Jessie and Meowth were standing by the balloon cautiously watching the Shadow Pokémon.

"Alright Gengar you know the drill, just scare the people we tell you to, and you get this plate of French fries." James said.

"And while you're distracting dem, we'll take der Pokéballs!" Meowth said. So that was what had been going on lately, Team Rocket was bribing Gengar to scare people so that they could steal Pokémon.

"Gengar, wait!" I shouted, coming out from behind the tree. Team Rocket froze and Gengar looked over at me.

"Gen?" he said.

"Don't listen to them Gengar! Their just using you to steal other peoples Pokémon!" I shouted to him.

"Don't be ridiculous, Gengar you want those French Fries don't you?" James said. Gengar turned to James and then back to me, he was obviously torn between choosing me or the French fries.

"Gengar Please..." I said. Gengar took one last look at the French fries, before floating over to my side.

"What!" James exclaimed. "Well if you're not going to eat these, I will!" He said, Gengar covered his eyes as James began to eat the fries, as if watching him enjoy them was torture.

"Gengar, just ignore him and use confusion on the bags of Pokéballs." I told him. Gengar opened his eyes which were now glowing purple. The Bags of Pokéballs were lifted out of the hot air balloon and placed next to me.

"Hey, we stole those fair and square!" Moewth exclaimed.

"Shut your mouth, Gengar use shadow ball!" I said. Gengar shot a dark ball at James who dropped the French fries and was knocked back into the balloon, causing a huge explosion. And send Team Rocket into the sky.

"We were doing so good!" Jessie said.

"I told you we should have sent the Pokéballs we had gotten so far to the boss!" Meowth said.

"But we didn't have any money, we spent it all on French Fries, that Gengar eats more than you'd think!" James protested.

"We're blasting off again!" They said in union, before disappearing in the sky.

"Alright!" I said, hopping in the air, "We beat Team Rocket all by ourselves!" I said as I hugged Gengar.

"Gengar!" The Pokémon said as he snuggled into my arms.

"Wow, Gengar sure is showing a lot of affection, people say that Pokémon reflect the feelings of their trainers..." I gasped, "could Ash...?" I shook my head, "Don't get your hopes too high yet..." I told myself. I let go of Gengar, I picked up a bag of Pokéballs, and Gengar lifted the other bag with confusion. We made our way back to camp. We set the bags down and each got back into our beds, me in my sleeping bag and Gengar next to Ash.

"Goodnight Gengar." I said, not really expecting a reply.

"Gengar Gen..." The Ghost/Poison type replied.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Ash's POV****  
><strong>  
>I woke up to a fairly odd surprise that morning. Gengar was proudly standing on top of one of the two bags that were filled with Pokéballs.<p>

"What are these Gengar?" I asked him.

"Pika Pikachu?" Pikachu added.

"Gar Gengar Gen, Gengar Gengar Gar Gen!" Gengar said, unfortunately I couldn't understand him.

"Pika pi chu Pikapika?" Pikachu said, obviously bewildered.

"Gen." Gengar replied.

"Piiiiiikaahhh..."

"So what the heck is going on you two?" I asked, "Where did these bags of Pokéballs come from?" Pikachu and Gengar facepalmed.

"Gengar stopped Team Rocket from stealing all the Pokémon that were missing in Violet and Azalea Town." Someone said from behind me, I turned around to see May. I turned back to Gengar.

"Really?" I asked him. Gengar nodded pridefully, "Gengar, that's awesome!" I said embracing the Shadow Pokémon, who happily returned it.

"Hey May, how did you know about this?" I asked. Gengar floated over to May and plopped himself on her head.

"Oh, I just helped him out a little bit, but he did most of the work..." May said. Dawn had now gotten up and was inspecting the bags, after explaining what happened, we all packed up and grabbed the two big bags of Pokéballs and headed to GoldenRod city. The traveling was slow but we did manage to get to the massive city.

"It's humongous!" Dawn said, a gigantic grin on her face. May also seemed very pleased to have arrived.

"Lets take these Pokêballs to the Police station, so that our load is lighter," I suggested. Dawn and May nodded in agreement and we trudged to the Police Station, I could tell May wasn't too pleased to go in.

"I had heard about the Pokémon stolen in Violet city and Azalea Town." Officer Jenny said checking the computer screen that sat on her desk, "and I am supposed to reward whoever got them back 6000 Pokédollars." She said.

"Are you serious?" I asked as she handed me the money.

"Yep, I'm sure you made a lot trainers and Pokémon happy," Officer Jenny said. We thanked her and walked out of the station.

"How should we split the money?" May asked.

"Split it three ways." I replied already preparing to evenly deal it out.

"But Dawn didn't do anything." May said. I gave her an odd look, and Dawn glaring at her.

"Neither did I..." I pointed out.

"Yeah, but it was your Gengar who saved the Pokéballs..." May said.

"Well splitting it three ways, it is only fair," I said. I handed out the money.

"Pikachu chu pi chu kachu pika" Pikachu said.

"Yeah, you're right Pikachu, it's like a little early birthday present." I told him. May gave me a questioning look.

"When is your birthday, Ash?" May asked. I was a little hesitant to answer.

"In two days, I'll be turning 11," I said. Both May and Dawn looked a bit surprised.

"Why did not tell us?" Dawn asked.

"I-I didn't want you guys to feel obligated to celebrate it," I said. Dawn gave me a hug.

"Now isn't that sweet, keeping a birthday a secret so we don't celebrate it," Dawn said.

"You make it sound worse than it actually is..." I told her.

"Nonsense, I'll make this a birthday you'll never forget!" Dawn said happily. May embraced me and knocked Dawn away.

"Yeah, me too." She said. Her long brown hair tickled my arms, and warm, smooth arms wrapped around me tightly, but comfortably. I felt a tingling sensation inside me, an odd sensation I never felt before.

_I must be excited about my birthday and next Frontier Battle._ I thought to myself. But as May let go of me, the sensation went away. _weird_ I thought to myself, _I wonder if I'm getting sick or something, maybe I need a nap.__  
><em>  
>"Hey you guys, I think I'm going to head over to the Pokémon Center and get us a room, and then take a nap." I said, I heard a rumble from my stomach, "After I eat." I added.<p>

"Okay, I'm going to go shopping." Dawn said.

"Me too," May added, "but would you mind if I take Gengar with me?" she asked.

"Sure," I said. Gengar hopped off my shoulder and onto May's.

_Gengar has really grown attached to May, I wonder if he would prefer her as his trainer over me…_ I thought to myself, the thought saddened me, but I shook it off and headed to the Pokémon Center with Pikachu. We got ourselves a room for everyone and headed to the Cafeteria. I sighed and talked to Pikachu about what had been on mind lately. After eating our meals, I went into my room and quickly fell asleep.

I had strange dreams, first I dreamt about when me and May first met, she had helped Professor Birch pulled me and Pikachu up a cliff by a rope, and then when Pikachu burnt her bike. The dream moved on to later that day, when May suggested that we travel together, which I agreed to, she seemed a little over excited about it though.

I saw several other odd moments like when May took her cloths off right on the beach, luckily she had a bikini underneath, but she embarrassed the crap out of Max and Me.

The scene changed to when me and May had gotten into a disagreement and continued to bicker about each other. We accidentally bumped into a couple who claimed that we we're in love, which I thought was ridiculous. Later that day we made up and forgave each other about the fighting, and helped each other out when we battled Team Rocket.

The scene changed again to when I swung down from a vine to save May from a crowd of angry grass type Pokémon, I grabbed her by the hand and raced away from the angry mob.

I then saw when we were on the Island with all the Donphan, May had to choose whether to stay on the island with us or leave the on the ferry so she could participate in her final contest before the Grand Festival. I grabbed May's shoulders and looked her straight in the eye and told her to go on the ferry, and that I would watch Max, but she refused, and stayed anyways.

Suddenly I was underwater with May and Manaphy, swimming in the school of luvdisk, and then everything disappeared and I was losing continuousness, I needed air I couldn't breath, suddenly, I heard May's soft voice begging for me to be okay, and not to give up, it gave me the will to swim to the surface of the water, I realized I was in the Ocean Temple. I swam to the crystal laying at the bottom of the water and swam back to the surface with it. I stuck it into its rightful place, saving the Ocean Temple, Pikachu, Manaphy, and May.

The final scene was me and May once again, retrieving our unofficial ribbon. We had tied and there was only one ribbon, but we both knew what to do, we split the ribbon in half. We held on to our ribbons through our separate journeys, it was important to us, it represented our friendship... Our... Bond...

I woke up.

"What is going on with me?" I asked myself, I looked down at Pikachu who was still peacefully sleeping. "It must have been something I ate."

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

I felt like I should reward Gengar for what he did last night, and what better way to do it than order him a huge plate of French fries. I though I could eat a lot, But Gengar's appetite put mine to shame. After Gengar finished his meal and gave a large belch, I paid for the food and we headed back out. Gengar sat on my head as I walked down the road.

"Now let's see..." I said, "What would someone get Ash for his birthday?" I thought for a moment.

"I know, I'll ask Mrs. Ketchum!" I found a phone booth and dialed the Ketchum residence. Mrs. Ketchum's face appeared on the screen.

"Hello, May. What a wonderful surprise!" Mrs. Ketchum said, a grin spread across her face, "How is everyone doing?"

"Everything is fine..." I said.

"I see you got yourself a Gengar." Mrs. Ketchum said.

"Oh this is actually Ash's, I'm just watching him." I explained, Mrs. Ketchum giggled. "What's so funny?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing..." she replied, "Now what did you really want to talk to me about?"

"Oh, well, you know how Ash's Birthday is in a few days?" I asked, Mrs, Ketchum nodded. "What should I get him for a birthday gift?"

Mrs. Ketchum looked surprised, "I would think that you would know better than me, you've spent more time with him recently." She said, she did have a point. "But I'm sure he will be happy with whatever you give him..." she finished.

"Okay, thanks Mrs. Ketchum." I said. We hung up and Gengar and I walked out of the telephone booth. I sat down on a nearby bench and sighed. Gengar hopped off my head and onto my lap, looking up at me.

"I just don't know what I should get him, Gengar. Every time I think about it, my mind just draws a blank..." I said, I looked down at him, "What do you think I should get him?" I asked. Gengar looked off into the distance before hopping off my lap and made his way down the road. I chased after him for a few minutes before he came to a halt in front of a small, humble building. I peeked into the window and gasped. Inside were lots of shelves if Pokémon eggs.

"Gengar, you're a genius!" I said, "Of course, a Pokémon egg would be great for Ash!" I squealed and went through the door. There was an older woman who sat behind a desk, rubbing one of the many eggs with a cloth.

"Hello, Dear..." She said, "How can I help you?"

"I'm just going to look around," I said. I browsed for a little while; there were so many different colored eggs, yellow with black marks, white with blue and red shapes, red with flames coming from the bottom, and more. I could guess what some eggs turned into, but others I couldn't. I couldn't choose one, I didn't know what egg Ash would want to most.

"Gengar!" Gengar said, it was examining a blue egg was dark blue pattern. I walked over to it.

"Do you like this one Gengar?" I asked, he happily shook his head. "If you like it, I'm sure Ash will too." I said. After buying the egg, it was placed in a case for safe keeping. Me and Gengar walked down the road and we past by a clothing store on the way, which I couldn't resist. So a reluctant Gengar and I entered the clothing store, I had one particular thing in mind. I walked up to the counter were a bored clerk was sitting.

"Excuse me, but where are your cheerleader outfits?" I asked. The clerk didn't even look at me, he just pointed to the left. "Uh, Thanks..." Was all I said, I found the different uniforms.

"Too dark, too big, too slutty..." I said going through them. I eventually found the perfect uniform, It was green and had golden trim.

"Perfect." I said. After buying it, we headed to the Pokémon Center, but Gengar fell asleep in my arms. I had quite a handful, I had asked for an extra bag to keep the eggs so Ash's wouldn't see it, and I had the bag for the cheerleading uniform, and now I had to hold Gengar. I did make it to the Pokémon Center, and found Ash playing with his Pokémon in the lobby. He looked up and walked over to me, glancing at Gengar sleeping in my arms.

"Hey May," Ash said.

"Hi Ash." I replied.

Ash seemed a little gloomy, "Listen, I've noticed that Gengar has really grown attached to you, and… well, I want my Pokémon to be happy, and Gengar seems happy with you. So... I was thinking..." Ash pulled out Gengar's Pokémon and held it out to me, "... If you would want to take Gengar." I was shocked, I didn't realize that Ash had been thinking about that.

"But..." I began, but as if on cue, Gengar woke up and lept out of my lap and into Ash's arms. He had obviously heard our conversation.

"Gar Gen Gen Gengar!" He said snuggling into Ash's arms.

"You're saying you want to stay with me?" Ash asked, Gengar nodded. "But you seemed so attached to May..."

"Ash, can your Pokémon not become friends with other humans?" I asked.

"They can… but I've never seen any of my other Pokémon, besides Pikachu, grow so attached to someone besides me..." Ash said.

"Pikachu..." Pikachu said, also confused. The idea of Pokémon reflecting their trainers came to my head. Dawn walked into the Pokémon Center her hands full of bags.

"There are so many stores here!" she said. "It would take a year to visit all of them!"

"Yeah, plus there's a gym, Battle Facility, and Contest hall here!" Ash said. Gengar had now placed himself on Ash's shoulder opposite of Pikachu.

"That's right! I need to sign up for the Contest taking place tomorrow!" I said. I shot down the road towards the Contest Hall, last time I had come to Goldenrod City, it took me forever to find it, but this time I knew right were it was. I raced in up to the front desk.

"Is there still time to sign up?" I asked, out of breath.

"You're in luck, if you had come in a minute later you would of missed it." The woman at the desk said. I signed up, and looked at the door; Dawn was nowhere to be seen.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Ash's POV**

"That's right! I need to sign up for the Contest taking place tomorrow!" May said, and then she shot out the door, leaving her bags behind.

"So do I!" Dawn said, grabbing my arm and pulling me to the door.

"Hey Nurse Joy, would you watch those bags until we come back?" Dawn shouted as I was dragged to the door, Gible and Totodile following close behind.

"Sure, no problem." Nurse Joy said. As we left the Pokémon Center, I saw Nurse Joy pick up the bags May and Dawn had left and carried them away.

"Wait Dawn! Do you even know where the Contest Hall is?" I asked. Dawn stopped dead in her tracks. Gible and Totodile hopped on my shoulders, I was now carrying four Pokémon

"N-no..." she said. "Do you?"

"Uh, no." I said, "But we can just follow May." We looked around, but May was no were in sight.

"Excuse me sir," I asked a man walking by, "Where is the contest hall."

He stopped and said, "oh, well you go down about three blocks and take a left. Now normally you would go down the street, but there is a short cut next to the sushi restaurant across from the shoe store. Then you take a left, a right, another right, three lefts, a right, left, and then two rights were you should see a fireworks warehouse. Race through the warehouse and cross the street and turn left at the next intersection. Head down five more blocks and then turn to the right and your there." The man finished and continued on. Me and Dawn just looked at each other...

"Head down two blocks..." I said.

"No, he said three..." Dawn said.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Uh... No..."

"Why don't you use Togikiss to find the Contest Hall..."

"Oh, good idea." Dawn called out Togikiss. "She can only carry one person, so I'll have to leave you behind..."

"That's okay." I told her. She winked at me before lifting off. I looked at all the Pokémon riding me.

"What should we do now?" I asked them, they all shrugged, "We should buy supplies and food so that we don't almost starve again." I said. We went to the story and bought berries, Pikachu convinced me to buy a couple bottles of ketchup and Gengar seemed to want potatoes.

"He obviously has connected them to French Fries..." I sighed. I packed the supplies up and along with my Pikachu and my other Pokémon, we walked back to the center.

"Would you like your bags?" Nurse Joy asked as we walked in, I had forgotten about Dawn and May's bags.

"There actually my friend's bags," I corrected her, "But I'll take them to the room." Me, Pikachu, Gible, Totodile, and Gengar all picked up the many bags and carried them to our room. I flopped down on the bed along with my Pokémon.

"What did they buy? Bricks?" I said jokingly. The doorknob wiggled and May walked in.

"Oh, Ash. I see you got my bags. You're such a gentleman." She said giving me a wink.

"Don't mention it..." I grumbled.

May picked up on of her bags and looked inside "You didn't look inside them did you?" She asked now sounding a little worried.

"No, why?" I asked, May sighed in relief, and hid the bag she was holding behind her back.

"Your birthday present is in one of them." she replied. I was about to say something, but Dawn walked in looking a little glum.

"I found the Contest Hall, but I was too late, I can't enter..." Dawn said sadly. She plopped herself down next to me, I wrapped my arm around her shoulder to comfort her.

"Don't worry about it, there will be plenty of other contests..." I told her. She rested her head on my shoulder. I looked over at May

"Did you manage to sign up in time?" I asked. She just nodded. There was a knock on my door. I let go of Dawn, who raised her head off my shoulder.

"Come on in." I said. Scott opened the door.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said.

"Hey everyone." Scott said. "So Ash, you ready for your next Frontier Battle?"

"Yeah! You can bet I am!" I said feeling a surge of determination run through my veins.

"Just remember, this Battle Facility will challenge your knowledge of Pokémon." Scott said, "So you might want to dust off a few books and study up a little."

"Sounds like a Battle Facility for Max, he's an expert." May said, Scott nodded.

"Ash, You'll find the Battle Facility at the top of the radio tower." Scott said, "The battle will me broadcasted across the world, so I hope you're ready to impress."

"Yeah!" I said jumping to my feet.

"After my contest," May said, I sweat-dropped. Scott wished us luck before he left; the rest of the night was pretty uneventful.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Ash's POV**

The next morning, me and May were having a small disagreement whether I should watch the contest or train for my next battle.

"Come on May, I need to practice for my Frontier Battle. I can watch the contest from outside while I train." I said.

"But Ash, don't you want to support me?" May asked, striking at me with guilt.

"It's not that I don't want to support you, it's just that I need to train, Dawn will be there..." I said.

"But I want my best friend to be there to support me." She said, she was using the term 'best friend' again, she hit my weak point.

"F-f-fine, okay, I'll be there, I won't... Train..." I said. May hugged me tightly.

"Thank you Ash." she said, there was that odd tingling sensation again. May rested her head on my shoulder. I returned the embrace, not really knowing what else to do. We just stood their for a second, I felt kind of awkward. Pikachu and Gengar just watched us from the ground. I let go of May, causing her to let go of me, she smiled at me and skipped away without saying a word.

"That was weird..." I said. Pikachu had an odd look on his face and Gengar didn't appear to be paying attention.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

I looked at the score board, it would be close, time was up and the points were being counted. I closed my eyes, prepared for the results.

"And winner is..." The Annoucer said, I held my breath time seemed to moving slow, I hated the dramatic pauses that built up suspense.

"May from Petalburg City!" The announcer shouted. The crowd roared with applause obviously pleased with my performance. After accepting the ribbon, I jumped into the air, mimicked by Chikorita.

"Alright! I won my second Ribbon!" I shouted.

"Chik Chik!" Chikorita added, she had just won a tough battle for me, suddenly, Chikorita began to glow.

"You're evolving!" I said, the grass type grew much larger. The crowd gasped, once the evolution completed, the glowing stopped and revealed the newly evolved Pokémon.

"Bayleaf!" He said proudly.

"Wow, you evolved into Bayleaf!" I said happily hugging the grass type. "Let's go show Ash." I ran off the stage and down the hall, Bayleaf right behind me. I rounded the corner and slammed into Ash. We both fell to the floor, moaning.

"Bayleaf!" Bayleaf exclaimed sounding concerned.

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu said, also concerned.

"Sorry Ash..." I moan, lying still on the ground.

"It was my fault..." he said, not moving either. We laid there for a minute. Ash finally got up, and stretched out his hand and pulled me up.

"I saw your Bayleaf evolve," Ash said walking over to Bayleaf. He rubbed him gently on the head, which Bayleaf enjoyed.

"Yeah, it must have been because of all the training we did." I said. We walked down the hall and left the Contest Hall. "So when is your Frontier Battle?" I asked.

"Tomarrow." Ash said. "The Frontier Brain only does battles on Fridays, because that's when her show is aired..."

"Her show?" I asked

"Yeah this frontier brain is a female."

"No, not that! The battle will be appearing on Television?"

"Yeah." was all Ash said. "Now I gotta go train," Ash said, he ran down the road with Pikachu and Gengar hot on his heels.

**~(o'-'o)~**

**NEXT EPISOPE: the corniest Pokémon battle since that one time! (You know what I'm talking about!)**

**Again, thanks to all the people who reviewed, please just take a second and review if you haven't already, thanks much!**


	9. Chapter 9: Cheering For the Win

**Chapter 9: Cheering For the Win**

**~(o'-'o)~**

**I've been putting this chapter off, I could just post it, but you would be horrified by all the grammar errors that there were (I probably missed a few). But I really wanted to post this before I go on vacation, so yeah, glad I did that. This Frontier Battle is a little crony, I originally had this other plan in mind, but that didn't work very well, so I just did something else. Yeah, Gible is an stoppable bulldozer, I made him the most amazing Pokémon ever in this chapter… why? Because I love Gible, he's my second favorite Pokémon.**

**BTW: I bought Pokémon! :D :D :D just kidding, I still don't own Pokémon. **

**~(o'-'o)~**

**May's POV****  
><strong>  
>"So I did a little research about this Frontier Battle," I told Ash as I, Ash, and Dawn walked towards the Radio Tower, today was the day Ash would Battle the next Frontier Brain.<p>

"Oh really? What did you find out?" Ash asked.

"Like Scott said," I replied, "This Battle challenges a person's knowledge about Pokémon. The Frontier Brain is a woman named 'Hall Matron Argenta' who happens to own a TV show about Pokémon knowledge and facts, while twisting it into battling and challenging other people's knowledge. And she hands out a commemorative print to anyone who beats her. Her show airs live on Fridays, that's why she is not always available." I said, and then took a deep breath.

"Wow, so I'll be appearing in the show?" Ash asked, I nodded. "Awesome!" Ash said. "You ready for this Pikachu?"

"Pikachu!" The rodent replied. His cheeks lit up and a few sparks appeared to show his excitement.

"And then tomorrows your birthday, and you'll get your birthday present!" I said. I had spent the morning polishing the egg, I had been making sure to take good care of it, while also keeping it a secret from Ash. It wasn't easy, but I was sure it would be worth it.

"I got you an awesome present Ash!" Dawn piped up, "I really put my heart into getting this present, and it's not a normal thing you can buy off the streets." I rolled my eyes, Dawn acting like she bought him an island.

"You're acting like you bought me an island," Ash said, Dawn just giggled. We approached the Radio Tower and walked in, we found Scott in the lobby waiting for us. Apparently not just any battler is allowed to battle Argenta, and luckily Ash met all the requirements. We entered a waiting room.

"Argenta will be here to meet you in a few minutes," Scott said, walking out of the room. Ash sat down, looking a little worried.

"Wow, I haven't been this nervous about a battle for a long time," He said. I sat down next to him and wrapped my arm around his shoulders.

"You'll do just fine." I told him confidently. If I was about to do what he was going to do, I would have probably fainted. I knew Ash would always be there for me, but there were times I needed to be there for him.

"The last time I was this nervous was back in Kanto when I participated in the Pokémon League Championships." Ash said. "That was fun though, wasn't it Pikachu?"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu replied happily. Ash seemed to be calming down.

"You have nothing to worry about," Dawn said, "My Pokémon and I will be there to cheer for you." That jogged my memory. I had to put on my new cheerleader outfit so I could cheer for Ash as well.

"I think I need to go use the bathroom." I lied, that was the best excuse I could think of at the moment. With that, I spun around and headed out of the waiting room.

**~(o'-'o)~**

**Ash's POV**

Soon after May left, Argenta came in. She was a woman with short purple hair and red eyes; she had red sunglasses sitting on her head and big, round, blue earrings. She wore a white shirt under her red vest, and she also had red shorts, purple leggings, black gloves, and high heel boots. Scott walked in after her.

"Ash, I'd like you to meet Argenta, the Frontier Brain of the Battle Hall, and known world-wide for her famous TV show." Scott said.

"Whoa, It's an honor to meet you, I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town," I said. "This is my best friend Pikachu."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said.

"And this is my other best friend, Gengar," I said.

"Gen-gar." Gengar said happily.

"I'm Dawn." Dawn said who was standing next to me.

"I also have another friend around here, but she's not here at the moment." I added.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all, "Argenta said, "Scott has told be a lot about you, Ash."

"Now Ash, things work a little differently here at the Battle Hall than the other Frontier Facilities," Scott said, "After you beat any of Argenta's Pokémon, you will have to answer a question given to you, if you answer correctly, you can move on, if not you're out. You'll also have to use your knowledge of Pokémon in battle."

"Whoa, tough stuff." I said.

"Pika..." Pikachu agreed.

"We'll be ready in a few minutes, we'll call you out when it's time."Argenta said. She and Scott left the waiting room, leaving just me, Pikachu, Dawn, and Gengar. The Butterfrees started fluttering in my stomach again. Dawn had to leave to go put her cheerleading suit on, leaving me by myself. We sat and waiting for a while but eventually someone came in and told me it was time.

"Well you guys," I told my Pokémon, "This is it..." I was led down a hall way, then was told that when I heard my name, I would walk out. Soon enough, I heard an announcer say.

"And now, the trainer from Pallet town, conqueror of the Battle Frontier in Kanto, the runner up in the Unova league championships: Ash Ketchum!" I entered to the stage, there was a huge crowd of people watching the battle, who clapped and cheered for me as I entered. Argenta was standing across the battle field from me. I noticed Dawn standing on the sidelines with her Pokémon all ready to cheer me on, and on the opposite side was...

"MAY?" I shouted as I saw my friend standing on the sidelines with her Pokémon in a cheerleader get up as well. She twirled around and waved her pompons in the air.

"Do you like it?" She shouted to me, I nodded sheepishly. I looked over at Dawn, who didn't look to happy about May copying her idea. Oh well, I needed all the support I could get.

"Okay Ash, before we begin, let me ask you a question," Argenta said. The question appeared on a big screen behind her, but we asked it out loud anyways. "What moves would be best to use on a Pokémon using Dig Attack?" I remember Max answering this question one time at a Pokémon school.

"Earth Quake or Fissure." I said. I heard a "ding ding ding"

"Correct," Argenta said with a smile, "Now let's begin. This will be a four on four match, only the challenger is allowed substitutions. Now let's get this show on the road... Sodowoodo!" This must have been part of testing my knowledge of Pokémon, Sudowoodo is a rock type Pokémon that is often mistaken as a grass type. Rock type are strong against Poison types, so Gengar was not a good option, but Sudowoodo is weak against water and ground types, so Gible or Totodile would be good options.

"Alright, I choose... Gible!" the Dragon/Ground type appeared on the battle field

"Gib Gible Gib!" the Pokémon said excitedly, Argenta smirked.

"Looks like you weren't fooled," she said, "I'm impressed, that's a fine looking Pokémon you have there, and it's just the cutest thing." I sighed, was that the only thing girls see in a Pokémon?

"Alright, I said, I'll start this off, Gible, Dig!" I said. Gible ripped away at the soil below him tossing it to the side at amazing speed, eventually disappearing underground.

"Funny that our question was about that, unfortunately, my Sodowoodo doesn't know Earthquake or Magnitude..." Argenta said. "Sodowoodo, move over to the right," Sodowoodo obeyed. But my Gible was smart; he was able to sense were Sodowoodo was standing and laid a direct hit.

"Sooodohh!" Sodowoodo exclaimed as he was knocked back, but he quickly recovered.

"Alright Sodowoodo, Double Edge!" Sodowoodo charged at Gible, a trail of light behind him.

"Rock Smash Gible!" Gible charged at Sodowoodo, they collided with a bang, and dust flew everywhere. We waited for the dust to settle, Gible and Sodowoodo were both standing but it looked like Sudowoodo was getting tired.

"Are you okay Gible?" I asked. Gible looked at me and nodded, of course, that didn't always mean yes for Gible, but I was taking it as a yes this time. "Alright, use Dig again!" Gible disappeared under the ground.

"Sodowoodo, Jump!" Argenta said, Sodowoodo leapt into the air avoiding Gible's dig.

"Now use Mimic!" Argenta commanded. Sodowoodo copied the move and disappeared under the ground, Gible franticly looking around for him, I smirked.

"Okay, this was what I have been waiting for, Gible! Use Earthquake!" I said, Gible jumped up and landed on the ground with a load slam, and repeated several times, causing the whole stadium to shake.

"Sodowoodo!" We heard from underground, the earthquake stopped.

"Gible, get Sodowoodo out of there!" I said. Gible hopped into the hole Sudowoodo had dug, and quickly came out a knocked out Sodowoodo, the crowd went nuts.

"Thank you Gible," Argenta said as she returned Sudowoodo. "A very ironic round Ash." she told me.

"You're doing great Ash!" May said, doing some cheering routine, you could tell that she had never done it before, but I guess it was the thought that counted.

"Keep it up Ash!" Dawn said.

"Next question Ash," Argenta said, the question appearing in the screen, "What two Pokémon are only capable of using one move?"

"Ditto is one of them, he can only know transform until he copied another Pokémon..." I said, trying to think of the other, I thought of other people I had met on my journeys: Gym leaders, frontier brains, Team Rocket, friends, enemies rivals... Who has been a rival? Gary, Paul, Berry, Trip, Ritchie, Morrison, tys- MORRISON! Morrison had a Beldum that could only learn Take Down attack.

"Beldum..." I said, "The other Pokémon is Beldum..." Ding ding ding!

"You are correct!" Argenta said, "Now onto the next round, Ditto, lets get this show on the road!" The transforming Pokémon appeared on the stage.

"Transform!" Argenta commanded, Ditto changed into a Gible.

"Alright, we can handle this! You ready Gible?" I asked.

"Gible!" he replied.

"Dragon Pulse!" I said. Gible formed a blue ball and shot it at its fake copy, hitting it directly.

"Ditto, use Dragon Pulse," Argenta said.

"Gible, use Dragon Pulse again as well." I told Gible. They both shot at each other, exploding in the center.

"Now's our chance Gible, use Draco Meteor!" Gible began to charge up.

"No! Ditto use brick break, don't let him finished that attack!" Argenta said. Ditto charged at Gible and split second before impact, Gible shot the glowing red orb in the air, then taking the damage from Brick Break. The red orb shot in the air and broke though the roof of the Radio Tower.

"Ditto, use Dig!" Argenta said. Ditto, in the form of Gible disappeared in the ground. The room lit up as the roof caved in, orange meteors breaking it down.

"Gible! Earthquake!" I told him. Gible jumped up and down shaking the arena. I heard several people in the audience scream in horror, and others yell in amazement. The site was truly remarkable, the shaking from Earthquake in addition to the impact and power of Draco Meteor knocked me, Argenta, Dawn and May all off our feet. When the attacks effect had worn off, the dust settled revealing the stage. It was now covered in rubble, Gible sat in the center of the field, surprised by the effect his attacks had.

"G-G-Gible, use dig to get Ditto out of the ground," I said, standing back up, Gible quickly obeyed, and pulled out a badly beaten Ditto out of the ground.

"Argenta I'm so sorry, I was trying to think fast and didn't think about what might happen and-" I said, but she interrupted me.

"It's okay Ash." She said, returning the Ditto Gible had given her, she handed the Pokéball to a Nurse Joy, who ran off with it. "Don't worry about it," Argenta said, "It was all just part of battling, let's move on, shall we?" she asked, I nodded. Gible walked back to the side of the stage I was on.

"Third Question," Argenta said, "What Pokémon is the only starter Pokémon in any region to have two type." I went through the list of all the starters I had encountered.

"Bulbasaur is both a grass and a poison type." I said.

Ding ding ding!

"Very good." Argenta said, pulling out her next Pokéball. "Now let's get this show on the road, Bulbasaur!" the small grass and poison type appeared on the stage.

"Bulba blubasaur!" it said.

"Your doing amazing Ash, keep on going!" May shouted.

"Yeah, your half way there!"

"Razor leaf!" Argenta said. The green blades were thrown at Gible.

"Use Dig to dodge!" I told Gible, who obeyed, narrowly avoiding the attack.

"Bulbasaur, hop into the hole Gible just dug, and use Vine Whip!" Argenta said, Bulbasaur hopped into the hole.

"Gible, if you can hear me, use dragon pulse behind you!" I said. The hole lit up light blue, and Bulbasaur was knocked out of the hole. Just as Bulbasaur recovered, Gible launched out of the ground right out from under him, completing dig attack.

"Bulbasaur, magical leaf!" Argenta said. The pink leaves flew at Gible, hitting him hard.

"Gib... Gible..." Gible said at he got up.

"You okay Gible?" I asked.

"Gible!"

"Okay then, Brick Break!" Gible hit Bulbasaur, knocking it near a hole Gible had previously dug.

"Now, Dragon Pulse!" I said. A blue orb was headed towards Bulbasaur.

"Bulbsaur, hop into the hole to dodge!" Argenta said, Bulbsaur obeyed, a big mistake.

"Earthquake!" I told Gible. Who jumped up and down, shaking the stage a third time.

"Bulbasaur!" Bulbsaur exclaimed. The earthquake ended, I sighed, Gible would have to retrieve another Pokémon from underground, I gave the command, but Bulbasaur came out! He shook and wobbled, but still stood.

"You want to keep going Bulbasaur? Then use Vine Whip!" Argenta said. Bulbasaur used the attack but it appeared that the attack merely was tapping Gible instead of doing any damage. Bulbasaur must have been too tired.

"I've think you've had enough Bulbasaur, take a nice rest." Argenta returned her Pokémom. She looked up at me. "Time for your final question Ash." she said

"What Legendary Pokemon are able to change forms." I gulped, all of her questions tied with the next Pokémon she used in battle, could she have a legendary Pokémom? That didn't matter at the moment; I had to answer her question.

"Giratina, Deoxys, Arceus, Genesect, Melloetta, and Shaymin..." I said. I heard the "ding ding ding."

"Good job Ash, now normally I would never use this Pokémon, but you are an extraordinary trainer, your Gible alone took put three of my Pokémon. Now, I choose, Deoxys!" Argenta said, I knew it.

"Don't worry Ash you can take it!" Dawn said.

"Just give it your all!" May said. Gible was breathing heavily, he was obviously wiped out from the battle.

"Amazing job Gible!" I said, pulling out his Pokéball, "Now why don't you take a break." I returned Gible and looked at Deoxys, who was a Physic type.

"Alright Gengar, let's do this!" I said, Gengar hopped to the field.

"Gengar!" Gengar said.

"Use Shadow Punch!" I said, Gengar launches the attack at Deoxys, hitting him with the super effective move, but it didn't look like it actually did much.

"Okay Deoxys, use Psycho Boost!" Argenta said. Deoxys changed to Attack form and make a colorful ball and shot it at Gengar.

"Dodge it!" I shouted, Gengar leapt out of the way of the attack.

"Use Confusion Deoxys!" Argenta commanded, Deoxys's eye began to glow purple, and lifted Gengar into the air.

"Use Pyscho Boost again!" Argenta said. This time Gengar couldn't dodge, and got hit by the attack. "Do it again!" Argenta said.

"Gengar! Use Shadow Ball!" I said. Still suspended in the air, Gengar shot a Shadow Ball at the same time Deoxys shot its Pycho Boost. The attacked collided and caused a huge explosion, freeing Gengar from confusion.

"Deoxy's use Hypnosis on Gengar!" Argenta said. Deoxy's put Gengar to sleep before he could react.

"No! Gengar, wake up!" I shouted.

"Come on Gengar, you need to wake up!" May shouted from the side lines.

"Dream Eater!" Argenta said. Deoxys flew at Gengar and hit him with the devastating attack, knocked him out. I couldn't return Gengar because he didn't like his Pokéball, so I walked out to the stage with Pikachu, and picked up Gengar, who was now snapping out of his daze.

"Gengar..." He said sadly.

"Don't worry about it, you did great out there." I told him. We walked off the field; I pulled out my next Pokéball.

"Totodile, I choose you!" I said, Totodile appeared on the stage, he may have been small, but he had proven himself in the past.

"Show her Ash!" Dawn called out.

"We believe in you!" May said.

"Totodile, Hydro Pump!" I said, Totodile shot power blasts of Water from his mouth towards Deoxys.

"Stop it with Physcho boost!" Argenta said. The attacked collided, but Totodile's Hydro Pump managed to not only stop the colorful orb headed towards him, but send it back at Deoxys, hitting him hard.

"Yeah! That's how it's done!" May shouted.

"You'll win this one Ash!" Dawn added. This cheering thing getting distracting, but I wasn't going to tell them that.

"Okay Totodile, use Skull Bash!" I said, but as Totodile proceeded, Deoxy's changed to Defense form, making Totodile's attack virtually harmless.

"Try Water Gun!" I told Totodile, who tried to shoot the water guns at Deoxys. But the Psychic Changed to speed form and raced around dodging all of them.

"Just take focused Ash!" May said, I turned and looked at her, and when I looked back, Deoxys had put poor Totodile to sleep, and uses Dream Eater on him, knocking him out. I sighed and returned him.

"Sorry Totodile, that was my fault, I got distracted." I told him from his Pokéball. Pikachu was about to get on the Battle Field to fight, but there was a little commotion.

"Good job, May! You distracted Ash and now Totodile is out!" Dawn said.

"Oh yeah?" May replied, "It's not like you were doing anything any different, you're worse because you that annoying squeaky voice if yours."

"I don't have an annoying squeaky voice, you take that back!" Dawn said. "Oh wait, You probably can't understand me, Miltanks 'MOO!'" The audience began to laugh and the cameras turned to May and Dawn as they walked right up to each other in the middle of the Battle Field, glaring into each other's faces.

"Uh, you guys?" I began.

"Yeah, well you're so ugly that even Darkrai hides when he sees your face!" May said, the Audience roared with laughter.

"Girls please..." Argenta said, but there was no stopping them. Even Deoxys just stared in confusion. Eventually, security came in and dragged them both out of the stadium. Everyone went quiet, until finally Argenta said:

"Ash let's move on, please pick your next Pokémon," I looked down at Pikachu, who nodded in response and hopped on the field.

"PI-KA!" He said ready to face Deoxys, this was it.

"Pikachu, use Thunder!" I said. Pikachu shot a powerful Amount of lightning at Deoxys, who transformed into defense form, causing the lightning to merely bounce off him.

"Physcho Boost!" Argenta exclaimed. Deoxys shot the attack at Pikachu.

"Dodge it with quick attack!" I said, Pikachu speed out of the way and charged at Deoxys, "Now Volt Tackle with Quick Attack!" Pikachu sped at Deoxy's with incredible speed.

"Pikapikapikapikapika!"

Pikachu leapt into the air at Deoxys, "Now Iron Tail!" I shouted. The outcome resulted in an incredible flash and large explosion. When the effect died down, Deoxys was still in Defense form, knocked back into the wall. Pikachu was standing in the middle of the field, breathing heavily, electricity appeared around him as he took the toll for the attack. Deoxys fell to the ground, and after some struggling got up.

"If Deoxys hadn't been in defense form, it would have been out for sure..." Argenta said. "Now use Physcho Boost!" Deoxys struggled, but managed to shoot the orb.

"Dodge it Pikachu!" I said. Pikachu barely dodged the attack, the ball flew past him.

"Use confusion on Physcho Boost!" Argenta said, Deoxys's  
>eye's glowed purple, and the orb turned in mid air, and hit Pikachu, knocking him out.<p>

"Pikachu!" I said, running up to him, Gengar followed behind. I picked him up; he looked sadly into my eyes. "You did amazing Pikachu..." I told him. I looked up at Argenta, "Looks like you won." I told her.

"Not quite..." She said.

"What?" I asked.

"I believe I never really defeated your Gible..." she told me.

"Oh yeah! Gible come back out!" I said. Gible reappeared on the battle field, he still looked pretty tired. I crouched down next to him. "You think you still fight?" I asked, Gible nodded. I looked over at the Deoxys on the opposite side of the field, Pikachu's combination really had a devastating effect. Deoxys and Gible stared at each other; I realized the next one to land a blow would be the winner.

"Pyscho Boost!" Argenta yelled.

"Dragon Pulse!" I shouted. The two attacked where launched and collided causing a huge explosion. "Now wrap it up with Draco Meteor!" I told Gible. The Pokémon shot a red orb into the air.

"Deoxys, Pyscho Boost again!" Argenta said, Deoxys shot the orb at Gible.

"Dodge!" I told Gible. Just then, several Meteors fell from the sky, slamming hard onto Deoxys, if that didn't finish him, I didn't know what would. Dust flew everywhere concealing the results. Had the attack finished Deoxys? Had Gible managed to dodge? Everybody in the audience waited with baited breath as the dust settled, revealing a knocked out Deoxys, and Gible who was barely standing.

"The winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" Argenta said, the crows roared with cheers and applause. Me, Pikachu, and Gengar ran over to Gible.

"You did it Gible!" I exclaimed.

"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu added.

"Gib Gib!" Gible said proudly, but weakly. Gible nearly fell over on his face exhausted, but I grabbed him and picked him up, holding him in my arms. Pikachu and Gengar took their places on my shoulders, and I let Totodile out of his Pokéball. Argenta walked up to me with her commemorative print.

"Congradulations Ash," she said, "you deserve it." She handed me the print. It had a picture of the Radio tower, herself, and me with Pikachu and Gengar.

"Alright!" I said happily, "I won the Gold Battle Hall Print!"

"Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu said.

"Oh, and your friends are waiting in the lobby..." Argenta said. My heart nearly stopped I had forgotten about Dawn and May, and their fight. My face turned a little red.

"Pika Pi?" Pikachu asked.

"Oh, I'm fine, just a little mad, that's all." I said.

**~(o'-'o)~**

**May's POV**

"Well that was embarrassing..." I said.

"You have no one to blame but yourself!" Dawn said.

"You started it!" I shot back.

"Do I need to kick you both out of the building too?" The security guard, who was watching us, asked, we both fell silent. This was ridicules, after being dragged out of the stadium, we were brought to the lobby, and were being babysat by a guard. I should not be babysat, I have traveled through three different regions, helped Ash save the world, and even completed in the grand festival, I should not be here! I guess I could have left, but there was a huge TV screen with Ash's battle playing in the lobby. We sat and watched Pikachu get knocked out, and Gible barely defeat Deoxys. After Ash's victory, they showed some replays of different parts of the battle.

"But perhaps the more memorable moment," the person on the TV said, "Was when two well known coordinators got into the middle of the battle and began arguing with each other." they showed me and Dawn arguing and us getting dragged off.

"Oh there goes my reputation!" Dawn said, but that wasn't what I was worried about, I was pretty sure Ash would be a bit ticked off as well. The elevator dinged, and Ash, Pikachu, Gible, Gengar, and Totodile all stepped out.

"Ash, we saw the battle, you did amazing..." I said, but Ash didn't even look in our direction, he just ignored us and walked out of the building, only getting a few glances from Pikachu and Gengar. Dawn and I left the radio Tower, and were about to follow Ash down the road, but someone called us.

"Hey you two!" We turned and saw Scott walking over to us.

"I didn't get to congratulate Ash on his victory," Scott said, "He left pretty upset, when you seem him tell him I said hi." I nodded.

"Scott, is it possible that you could edit out the part where May and I fought?" Dawn asked.

"Afraid not," Scott said, "I hate the break it to you, but the show was live, sorry."

After our chat with Scott we changed back into our normal traveling cloths, and wordlessly made our way to the Pokémon Center, as we walked down the road, several people who must have just watched Ash's battle, gave us odd looks, and a few laughed. When we got there Ash wasn't in the room we had gotten, so I went to Nurse Joy and asked her.

"He gave me all of his Pokémon except for his Pikachu," Nurse Joy told me, "And then he walked out of the Pokémon Center and headed east." I looked around the outskirts of the city, because I figured he wouldn't be in the city. He probably found some peaceful spot.

**~(o'-'o)~**

**Ash's POV**

Me and Pikachu had found a small cliff that faced Goldenrod City, giving anyone who stood there a beautiful view of the city, but it was far enough away that there wasn't any noise.

"What a peaceful spot..." I told Pikachu.

"Pika..." he agreed, he sat on my lap a gazed at the massive city, I lightly stroked his head.

"There's nothing out here to annoy us at the moment, no troubles, no worries, no battles, no other trainers, no Dawn, no M-"

"Hey..." I heard someone say.

I turned around and saw the brunette standing a few steps away, "May?" I asked, "What do you want?" I asked a little coldly.

"Do you mind if I sit down with you?" She asked quietly. I looked down at Pikachu, who smiled and nodded.

"No..." I finally said. May sat down next to me, and was quiet for a few minutes, eventually, she looked at me.

"I'm sorry about today..." She said finally. "I got a little carried away and made a fool out of myself." I didn't respond, I didn't really know what to say, I hadn't really determined if I will forgive her or not.

"Ash, please don't stay mad at me..." She rested her hand on my shoulder "Tomorrows your birthday, you don't want to spend it like this, do you?" I continued looking ahead.

"You and Dawn promised that you would get along," I said, "I take it neither of you truly meant it..."

"I know Ash, and I sorry! Please... please forgive me..." She pleaded, her hand was still on my shoulder, her eyes looked a little wet, like she was about to cry.

"I..." I said, pausing, "I forgive you..."

"Oh, thank you Ash!" May said, tackling me and knocking me over, and hugging me tightly. Pikachu hopped off my lap and on the soft grass, he had a big grin on his face, but he also showed a little smirk. He wasn't smirking at me though; it looked like he was smirking at May. I pushed myself upright again, May never letting go of me, Pikachu crawled back on my lap."

"Thank you Ash," May said, "Thank you..."

~(o'-'o)~

**Cha Cha! There you have it, Chapter 9. Take a second to Review that always lifts my spirits and encourages me to continue.**

**So, if you've enjoyed this story thus far (And I hope you have) I have started a collection of Advanceshipping one-shots that you may also enjoy, so you can check that out and see if you like them. Check in my stories.**


	10. Chapter 10: Trouble Ahead

**Chapter 10: Trouble Ahead**

**~(o'-'o)~**

**Yeah, so there's a bit of a delay this time because I went to Ohio, home of the big fields of corn, beans, and wheat. There wasn't any wifi there, so there wasn't much I could do. **

**You know that feel you get when you're in the middle of a project but you stop for a while (for whatever reason) and then it takes you a while to get back into it again, that started happening to me. But I'm going to Washington DC pretty soon (yeah, a lot of traveling lately) so I forced myself to correct this so I could put it out.**

**Fun fact: Gengar got number 17 of 100 in IGN's most liked Pokémon ever; he even beat Pikachu (I was very happy)**

**I don't own Pokémon, if I did, Ash would totally catch a Gengar.**

**~(o'-'o)~**

**May's POV**

Today was the day, Ash's birthday. And how did he decide to spend it? He slept in. After everything that happened on the cliff yesterday, Dawn apologized as well, which of course, Ash forgave her for. Then we all had an awkward talk about what Dawn and I were fighting about. Of course, we lied and said because we were rivals and both coordinators. I think we convinced Ash, but Pikachu was not as dense as his trainer, and figured out what was really going on between me and Dawn. Gengar didn't seem to pay attention to our conversation at all, he would just move from Ash's lap, to my lap, to Ash's lap again, back and forth. He looked around and found various things around the room, playing around with them for a little bit before throwing it on the floor. So by the time our conversation was over, the room was a disaster and it took us forever to clean up. That's why we stayed up late, and why Ash was sleeping in.

"Come on Ash, you don't want to sleep your birthday away, do you?" I asked him, Dawn had gone out to the Cafeteria and along with Nurse Joy, was making a big breakfast for Ash. Pikachu and Gengar were playing around in the room, chasing each other, I had told them not to pull anything out.

I shook Ash a little bit, "Are you really going to sleep the day away?" I asked

"Sounds like a good idea." Ash said into his pillow, he was laying on his stomach, arms under his pillow for support and face buried deep in it. I put my hands on my hips and sighed.

"There's a big breakfast waiting for you out there..." I told him. Ash didn't even budge. If that would get him up, I could only think of one thing that could. I glanced at Pikachu, who stopped running around the room and looked at me, his cheeks began to spark, just waiting for the command. I put a finger up, signifying him to wait a minute; an idea had popped into my head.

"Ash are you ticklish?" I asked him, giggling a little.

"No..." He mumbled into his pillow.

"Okay then, Then you shouldn't mind if I do this." I told him. I leaned over him and began to tickle him on the both his sides.

"What test?- Whoa! Ha yow! Okay! Okay! Stop!" He pleaded, but I continued to tickle him, Pikachu and Gengar had again, stopped chasing each other and watched us.

"I'll get up! I'll get up!" He yelled, so I stopped tickling him. He sat in his bed breathing heavily, I could feel my face heat up and a blush spread across my face. Ash didn't notice though, he just threw on his shoes, jacket, and hat. Pikachu and Gangar hopped on his shoulders.

"Unlike some people, I can get ready to start my day in no time!" he said proudly.

"Oh whatever..." I said giggling and playfully pushing him. He just smiled and walked out of the room. I had to admit, the day had come to a pretty good start. I got down on my hands and knees and pulled out the Blue and black egg from under the bunk bed. I examined it, making sure it was well shined and looking good. Satisfied, I set the egg up by the window.

I walked into the Pokémon Center cafeteria, where Ash was gaping at a large table full of food. Dawn stood by it proudly, even Pikachu was impressed. I noticed that Ash was starting to drool.

"Well, there's no point in letting this food just sit here, let's eat." Dawn said, we had agreed to get along for Ash's birthday. We all sat down and ate to our hearts content, other trainers stared at the food as they walked by, envying our gigantic meal. Me, Ash and Dawn were eat a little bit of everything, our Pokémon were eating Pokémon food on the floor, Pikachu was slurping away at a bottle of ketchup, and Gengar was just staring at the food on the table. I pushed some hash browns to him.

"Try it, you'll love it." I told him, he slowly tried it, and loved it, but I guess that wasn't much of a surprise. Needless to say, after that, nobody else got any hash brown.

"I guess he'll eat any form of a fried potato." Ash said, watching the food on Gengar's plate seemingly evaporate.

"It's like he inhales it..." Dawn added. The food on the table was also seemingly inhaled as we made it all magically disappear. Ash let out a satisfied burp.

"That's what I call a meal." he said, patting his stomach.

"Ash, where are your manners?" Dawn asked jokingly, referring to the burp.

"The birthday boy can do whatever he wants." Ash said.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Ash's POV****  
><strong>  
>After a gigantic breakfast, we did a few other things, mostly played with our Pokémon. I was glad I had forgiven May and Dawn about what had happened yesterday, it made my birthday that much more enjoyable. We had a good time, we laughed and cried. Well, Dawn cried when Pachirisu used Discharge on her. Dawn demanded that we stop, and she went and took a shower. Even as an eleven year old now, I still don't understand girls.<p>

It got late and we all headed to our room, May demanded that I stand out in the hall while she got her present for me ready. My Pokémon and I all sat in the hallway outside the door until May finally let us in.

I always hated opening presents in front of people; there is just something so awkward about it. But none the less I opened everything. Pikachu had gotten me a bottle of ketchup, which was already opened and half used, Totodile, Gengar, and Gible's gifts consisted of rocks, twigs, leaves, and other things you could find on the ground outside, but it's the thought that counts... Right?

"Open mine next," Dawn said, handing me a small box. I opened it up it was a type of Pokéball.

"It's a Master Ball," Dawn explained, "It is capable of catching any Pokémon, there is no chance it can escape. They're extremely rare and took me forever to get one

"Whoa," Was all I could say, I gazed at the Pokéball in my hand, was it really capable of that kind of power? "Thanks a lot Dawn." I said. May pulled out a bag with something in it.

"I couldn't really wrap this, It didn't feel right, so I put it in the bag instead," she told me. I reached inside the bag and pulled out an egg case that had a blue and black Pokémon egg in it. "Whoa! It's a Pokémon egg, do you know what Pokémon will hatch from it?" I asked.

May shook her head, "I was hoping you could tell me. Gengar liked it, so I thought you would too." I examined the egg.

"Thanks a lot May." I told her, suddenly, the egg started to glow. "Whoa talk about good timing..." I said.

"Maybe it's choosing to hatch because he likes you." May suggested. We ran to the Lobby of the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy took the egg and placed it on a soft surface under a few lights to keep it warm. The egg continued to glow.

"I wonder what it will be..." Dawn said. The egg suddenly maintained it's glow and began to change shape, the glow dimmed and there the baby Pokémon sat. The baby Pokémon opened his eyes and looked straight at me.

"Riiih!" He said.

"Whoa, May, it was a Riolu." I said. The Riolu hopped happily into my arms.

"A Riolu?" May asked pulling out her Pokédex.

"Riolu, the Emanation Pokémon." The Pokédex began, "When sad or scared, Riolu's aura becomes stronger as a way of signaling its allies."

"Remeber when we met that Riolu in Shinnoh?" Dawn asked.

"How could I forget?" I asked her I never forgot the baby fighting type that had the ability to control aura so well, even at such a young age. I looked down at the Riolu that was in my arms looking down at me. The Pokémon smiled at me obviously happy be there.

"Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu said to the Riolu, approaching it, ready to make a new friend.

"Roooh!" Riolu replied, the two began to have a friendly conversation, I looked over at May.

"May, I've wanted a Riolu ever since I first saw one." I told her, I put Riolu on the ground with Pikachu, I embraced her. "Thank you." I told her. I didn't want either of them to think that I was choosing favorites, so I hugged Dawn and thanked her for the Master Ball as well.

"It will definitely come in handy." I told her. We realized how late it was getting, and decided to go to bed. My bed was beginning to get cramped now that I was sharing it with Pikachu, Gengar, and Riolu, who had snuggled up against me.

"Good night everyone." I said.

"Pika..."

"Gengar Gen..."

"Riiiahh."

"Good night Ash." Dawn said.

"And Happy Birthday," May finished.  
><strong><br>****~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

Our next town was Ecruteak City, which was going to be quite a trip considering we had to go though Routes 35, 36, and 37. Ash had accepted that Dawn and I were rivals, even though he didn't know the true reason why, which meant that we fought more in the open. Pikachu sat on Ash's shoulder most of the time, and Riolu would sat on the other, or wander around, he was a very curious Pokémon, inspecting everything we walked by, whether it be a flower, river, tree, or another Pokémon. Ash would try his best to keep up with Riolu and explain to him what different objects were.

Rookie would run up to an object and point at it, and Ash would have to explain what it was, "These are trees, some trees grow berries that we can eat, that's a river were water flows, you can drink the water or swim in it, and these are flowers, they are pretty little plants that grow everywhere, they make nice gifts too." Every time Ash finished describing something, the little Riolu would run over to something else. Gengar kept himself entertained by goofing around as we traveled, or sitting on Ash's or my head. My feet began to hurt and my legs began to ache, so I fell on my hands and knees.

"Ash's can we stop and take a break?" I asked wearily.

"We've barely made any progress, look, you can still see Goldenrod city from here," Dawn said.

"Yeah, well maybe that's because we're going uphill nitwit!" I shouted, getting frustrated.

"May if you hadn't eaten a breakfast the size of a Wailord this wouldn't be a problem!" Dawn shot back.

"I didn't eat that much!" I protested.

"Do to!"

"Do not!"

"Do to!"

"Do not!"

"Shut up!" Ash shouted, "We'll stop and take a break, I wanted to do a little training anyways."

"Thank the lord..." I said.

"Oh brother..." Dawn said. "If I'm late for another contest, I'm holding May responsible." I rolled my eyes; she would never get over that. We moved a little bit away from the path, and found a great clear spot to train, I plopped myself down in the soft grass, and watched Ash do some training with Totodile. Pikachu was helping Ash, Gengar was taking a nap next to me, Dawn rested a safe distance away from me, but where was Riolu? I looked around, I stood up and looked back and forth, suddenly, I felt a light tap on my leg. I looked down; Riolu was standing at my feet, looking up at me, and holding a flower up to me. I sat back down and took the flower.

"How sweet, thank you," I told Riolu.

"Riiiiah!" He replied happily. Nobody else seemed to notice Riolu's action. Was this another possible Pokémon reflecting their trainer's feelings, or was Riolu just being nice? I sighed, I didn't know, I wished it was the first guess, but it didn't seem likely. Riolu sat down beside me and watched Ash train was Totodile, seeming fascinated by the moves being used. Suddenly, Riolu charged at Totodile at full speed and used Tackle on him, knocking Totodile over.

"Whoa, Riolu! What was that all about?" Ash asked it, but not harshly.

"Riiiiiiy?" Riolu asked. Totodile angrily got up, threw is head back and began to charge up a Hydro Pump.

"Totodile, No!" Ash shouted. Totodile shot a jet of water at the baby Pokémon. Ash leapt in the way, taking the full force of the blow. Totodile saw what he was doing and stopped, Ash layer on the ground.

"Ash!" I shouted. I ran over to him, Pikachu, Totodile, and Riolu all looked concerned. Dawn ran up as well.

"Rooooah?" Riolu said, he shook Ash gently. Ash's stirred a little.

"Nice Hydro Pump, Totodile..." He said weakly, Totodile bowed his head in shame. "Don't worry, it's not your fault." Ash said. Dawn gave Ash a hand and lifted him up from the ground. Riolu was pleased to see that Ash was okay, and hopped into Ash's arms.

"I think Riolu thinks of you as his father, Ash," I told him, he looked down at the Pokémon in his arms. Everyone went back to what they had been doing before, and after a little more training with Totodile, Ash's stomach rumbled.

"Oh no!" Dawn exclaimed, "We forgot to get food for our trip in Goldenrod City!" She appeared to be extremely frustrated.

"Have no fear..." Ash said, digging through his backpack pulling out some food, "... Ash is here." we ate some of the food Ash had gotten, and hit the road again.

"Hopfully, both you guys will be able to participate in the next contest." Ash said as we walked, "Strange how one of you always missed a contest."

"Well I would have been able to get there on time if Dawn hadn't tied me to a tree in the middle of the forest!" I blabbed, I cover my mouth with my hands, regretting the words I just said. Dawn looked surprised, Ash seemed to be thinking.

"Well that's not tha- wait a minute- WHAT?" He asked, he had a completely amazed look in his face.

"Well... I... Um... I didn't mean..." I tried to cover up my mistake.

"Dawn tied you to a tree so you couldn't participate in the contest?" he asked me.

"N-na-no...no... Yes..." I admitted, Ash looked at Dawn.

"Why?" He asked.

"Well May bribed Gengar into scaring Pachirisu so that it would released discharge and mess up my hair! I was just getting revenge!" Dawn said. I was going to tell him about her 'Hand in the Warm Bowl of Water' Prank, But Ash only thought our rivalry was about contests, if he realized that the rivalry it was actually a rivalry over him by thinking about the prank, it would end bad.

"I-I-I can't believe you two..." He said, "All this just over contests, that's not what Pokémon Contest are about!" he broke into a run and dashed ahead, Pikachu and Riolu riding on his shoulders and Gengar floating next to him.

"Ash, please wait!" I shouted to him, but he didn't stop.

"Great job, Princess..." Dawn said coldly.

"It's not my fault you're such a jerk, and go so overboard!" I snapped.

"Well maybe if you weren't such an annoying brat, I wouldn't do things like that!"

"So you're blaming me for you being a jerk?"

"No, but I should, because everything has been your fault May!" Dawn shouted and stamped off down the path Ash's left. I pulled at my hair, stamped my feet, and let out a scream. Dawn was driving me crazy, how could Ash tolerate her. I stopped and thought for a moment, was I any different? Was I just as big of an idiot as Dawn? I just wished I could fix everything, but that wasn't going to happen. Ash had given us each so many chances, would he forgive us for the umpteenth time? I sighed sadly, and walked down the path again.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Ash's POV**

"I just don't understand girls Pikachu..." I said.

"Pikachu..." Pikachu agreed.

"Ri?" Riolu asked.

"Dawn and May have been fighting even before we left for Johto, Riolu." I told him. Gengar was floating beside me, looking a little sad.

"If this was just a rivalry about contests, does it really have to be this intense? Not even Paul was that bad. Their both starting to act like Harley." I told my Pokémon. Suddenly, something grabbed my arm and I was pulled into the bushes along with Pikachu and Riolu.

"What the-!" I started to say, but a hand covered my mouth, I turned my head and saw a boy with spiky brown hair with a finger over his mouth signaling to be quiet. Gengar floated into the bushes with us.

"Gary?" I asked quietly.

"Shhhh!" He said. We heard voices in the distance.

"We scanned the area nobody else is around, do you want to keep it under watch?... Yes sir!" A few men in black suits appeared a down the path, walking in our directions, as they got closer, I could make out a big red 'R' on their uniforms: Team Rocket. But this wasn't Jessie, James, and Meowth, these were other men working under Giovanni's orders.

"Orders are to stay on the look out in case a stupid traveler missed a route closed sign and didn't take the detour." One of the grunts said. _What sign?_ I thought _I didn't see a sign!_

Another grunt spoke up, "Yeah, but what are the chances? The sign is so big at you'd have to be blind and not see it!" what the heck? I must have ignored it all together. Gary saw the looked on my face and snickered, immediately covering his mouth. The rocket grunts stopped.

"Did you hear that?" One asked. "It came from the bush!" Gary and I held our breaths, Pikachu and Riolu held into me tightly. One grunt approached the bush.

"There's something in there," he said and just as he was about to reach the bush, Gengar popped out of the bush and use Astonish on the Grunt, who fell over on his butt.

"It was just a Gengar..." He said, shaking. "L-let's go..." the group walked away. When I was sure they were far enough away I spoke up.

"Great thinking Gengar," I turned to Gary, "So what are you doing out here?"

"Well, me and Gramps where out doing some research, we separated for a little while, and when I came back to meet him, he was in the custody of Team Rocket and was being pushed into a car. I followed the car as best I can to try to find where they took him." Gary explained.

"Oh no!" I said, "May and Dawn are still out there!"

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV****  
><strong>  
>I walked down the path, trying to think of some way to make Ash want to forgive me for a third time, a forth time if you counted when we found the berry tree.<p>

"That Gengar really shook ya didn't it." I heard someone say.

"Yeah, it just came out of no where!" someone else said, "Hey you! halt!" A bunch of men in ran up to me, "Didn't you see the sign?" One asked.

"What sign-" I began.

"Never mind," He said, someone grabbed my arms and hand cuffed them, "You'll be coming with us..." they tool my Pokémon from my pack.

"Hey! Give those back!" I began to struggle, but the man holding me back was too strong. I kicked and wiggled but it didn't do any good. I was about to scream my loudest, but they gagged me also.

"May?" Everyone turned around, Dawn was standing in the middle of the path.

"Get her!" someone said, Dawn ran down the path with two grunts going after her. It wasn't long before they returned, but Dawn was now handcuffed and a gagged as well. What was going on?

"Take them to the base and return here as quickly as possible." A grunt said the others.

"Yea sir!" four of them replied, we began to walked doing the path, completely helpless, two grunts walking on either side of me, and two on either side of Dawn. As we walked down the path, I noticed red eyes staring at me in the bushes, two familiar red eyes.

"Let them go!" Someone shouted, we all turned around, it was Ash.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Ash's POV**

We heard footsteps approach us, well all held our breath. Six people were walking down the path. One was May, who was cuffed and gagged, the other was Dawn, who was cuffed and gagged as well, and other four were men who had passed us before. Gengar stared at May, following her as they walked, May seemed to notice and acknowledge Gengar. I hopped out of our hiding place.

"Let them go!" I shouted angrily. They all turned around and looked at me.

"Don't be ridicules kid, you're insanely out numbered, now why don't you come with us?" One grunt said, pulling out another set of cuffs.

"Not so fast..." Gary stepped out of his hiding spot, "...Let's show them what we're made of!" he told me, grabbing a Pokéball.

The Team Rocket Grunt did not seem pleased, "Grr, we don't have time for this, Koffing, use smoke screen!" He threw a Pokéball in the air and The Poison Gas Pokémon can out. It released a screen if smoke, making it impossible to see. When the smoke disappeared, they were gone.

"Cowards..." Gary said.

"We have to save them, and Professor Oak too!" I said.

"Pikapika!" Pikachu agreed. We ran down the path in the same direction the Rocket Grunts had been heading with May and Dawn.

"There will probably be tons of other Rocket Grunts looking for us..." Gary said as we ran.

"Yeah so we'll have to be extra careful." I told him. We raced down the path until...

"Freeze!" someone shouted. We turned and saw a Grunt with an Arbok running to us from behind.

"You keep going Ash..." Gary said, pulling out a Pokéball, "... I'll take care of this!" I nodded and continued running along with Pikachu, Riolu, and Gengar. We found a fork in the road, one of the paths looked newly made, so we raced down that one.

"Whoa..." I said.

"Piiikaaahh..." Pikachu said surprised. At the end of the path a gigantic fortress sat, it was heavily guarded.

"This isn't going to be easy..." I said. I looked at my Pokémon. "I'm going to need all of your guy's help. Are you ready?" I asked.

"Pikachu!"

"Rriii!"

"Gengar!"

"Totodile, Gible, come in out!" I released the two Pokémon. "Gible, I want you to use dig and get over to that door," I said, pointing at the entrance. Gible disappeared underground, "Now Pikachu, I want you follow Gible into the hole." I said, Pikachu and Totodile nodded and hopped into the hole. I was left with Riolu, Totodile and Gengar.

"Totodile when I signal, use Hydro Pump into the hole." I said. along with Riolu and Gengar by my side I ran to the guards at the door.

"Hey kid! You shouldn't be here! We have no choice but to take you to our commanding officer!" One of the two said.

"Not without a battle!" I told them. They both smirked.

"Very well then!" One said, the two release their two Arboks. Suddenly, Gible popped out of ground right between us, he hopped out with Pikachu, both joining my side. I signaled Totodile, and soon, Water burst out of the hole Gible made, squirting water everywhere.

"Pikachu Thunderbolt at the water! Riolu Protect!" As Pikachu launched a vigorous Thunderbolt, A green ball surrounded me, Riolu, Gengar, and Gible, protecting us from the lightning. The guards and their Pokémon fell over unconscious, the water everywere had given Pikachu's attack double the effect. After Totodile caught up to us, we all entered the building using a card key the grunts had. We walked down a hall way and made a few turns trying to find... What? We weren't really looking to a location in particular, just Dawn and May, but first I needed to know where they were.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

We sat before the leader of Team Rocket, the man behind the chaos: Giovanni. He was looking both me and Dawn straight in the eye. He sat behind a large desk our Pokéballs in a neat pile in the corner. We were other on the other side in small uncomfortable chairs, ungagged, but still cuffed.

"So tell me why you're here..." he said.

"We're here because your stupid henchmen dragged us here!" Dawn said, the 'henchman' behind her slapped her in the back of the head.

"That's not what I meant," Giovanni said calmly, "I mean what were you going here, in this forest, walking down the path. Where you looking for us? Trying to figure out our secrets?"

"We where on our way to Ecruteak City," I said.

"'We?'" He asked raising an eyebrow, "You mean you were together? Our guards found you alone before bumping into her." he motioned to Dawn.

"We got separated." I said.

"Were you two separated from anyone else." he asked.

"No," I lied.

"What are you up to?" Dawn blurted out. Giovanni gave Dawn a stare.

"A while ago," Giovanni began, "We created a Pokémon, the most powerful Pokémom in the world. The Pokémon was unstoppable, nothing could defeat it! But he got smart, and turned on us. He destroyed our base and fled. Several times we have tried to get it back... But failed. This is part of my new plan to capture that Pokémon, so that our life of crime and riches, maybe even world domination would be in my reach."

"What's your plan?" I asked.

"My plan?" Giovanni began, "This power house we created is no match for any normal Pokémon, the only ones who could stand a chance against it are a powerful Legendary Pokémon, such as Rayquaza whom we are attempting to catch..."

I was in disbelief; he really planned to do that? "How do we fit into this?" I asked.

"You don't," Giovanni stated, "You were just a few clueless fools who stumbled into our territory."

"So will you let us go?" Dawn asked.

"No," Giovanni said.

"WHAT! WHY NOT!" Dawn screamed, jumping up from her chair the grunts quickly grabbed her and pushed her into her seat again. My ears rang horribly from Dawn's outburst, Giovanni remained unfazed.

"You've seen and heard too much, our best and cheapest option would be to eliminate you for good." I jumped, he was going to kill us. "But that is not my style, you two will be kept in a cell until I decide what to do." Giovanni said. "Now get out of my sight."

With that, we were grabbed by the grunts and shoved out of the office. We marched down the hall and into an elevator. One of the grunts pushed a button and the doors shut, when they reopened, we were pushed into a room with no windows and one door, there was white tile laid out on the floor and the wall was covered with white paint. We were un-handcuffed and the door closed behind us. We turned around and found that we were alone.

"Brilliant..." I said sarcastically.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Ash's POV**

"Pikachu, do you think that you could find May and Dawn?" I asked.

"Pika?"

"You know, with your sense of smell or something." I told him. Pikachu fell over.

"I guess not... I said." We snuck around for a little while, Riolu and Totodile were on my shoulders, Gible and Pikachu were walking around, and Gengar was floating beside me.

"Hey, an elevator!" I said, walking up to the door. We move to the second floor and looked around some more.

"Man, this is weird." I said, "where are all the Team Rocket grunts?" My Pokémom also found it odd. After inspecting a few floors, Gengar and Pikachu both stopped and looked at one particular door.

"What is it you guys?" I asked.

"Pikapika!" Pikachu said.

"Do you think their in their?" I asked, Pikachu nodded. I walked up to the door, "Is anyone in there!" I called in the door.

"Ash!" May shouted from behind the door, "you came!"

"Of course I came, now stand back. Pikachu, Iron tail on the door!" I shouted.

"PiiiiKAAH!" Pikachu shouted as he broke the door in half.

"Ash!" May and Dawn shouted as they races out the door, both hugging me awkwardly.

"I knew you'd come!" Dawn said, nuzzling me with her head.

"But I don't get it, Team Rocket made it so easy. It was like they wanted me to find you..." I said.

"And you took forever..." Someone said, before we knew it, we were surrounded by Rocket Grunts. "Now I believe you have what we want..." The head of the group said.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"You'll find out soon enough," The grunt said, he grabbed me as another started inspecting me.

"Let. Ash. GO!" May shout, socking him in the face, he fell into several others, making and opening to escape. We all raced to the elevator, we crammed in and closed the door just before the Rocket Grunts reached us.

"To the first floor!" I said.

"Wait!" May grabbed my arm, "Our Pokémon." May pressed a button on the elevator we moved higher up in the building, we reached the top and the doors opened.

"Dawn, stay here and make sure the elevator doesn't go anywhere, I'll get your Pokéballs." I said, May and I ran down the hall and stopped at one of the many doors.

"This is the one..." she said, My Pokémon were ready to attack if anyone was inside. We opened the door, and found it empty. After grabbing the Pokéballs off the desk, we all raced back to the elevator. Dawn happily took her Pokéballs and we headed to the first floor, were we found no one.

"Let's get out of here!" I said. We all ran towards the door, burst out of it, to find an army of Team Rocket Henchmen before us, their familiar leader standing at the front.

"You didn't think I'd let you get away so easily did you?" Giovanni asked. "Now hand over your Master Ball."

"So that's want you guys wanted!" I said.

"Yes, with a Master Ball, capturing Mewtwo would be easy! When our security camera picking you up the second you walked through the door, I noticed the Master Ball clipped to your belt, a very rare item indeed. Now hand it over and we'll let you and your friends go."

"Don't do it Ash!" May said, "he wants it for world domination!."

"But, he would let you go..." I told her.

"... And then the world there would be an Armageddon!" She demanded.

"Now listen boy," Giovanni said, "You're not the only ones we have." He snapped his finger in the air, two shoulders dragged two figures towards us.

"Gary?" Dawn called.

"Professor Oak!" I said.

"Pikapika!" Pikachu added.

"Give me your Master Ball, and we'll let you all go, we'll even take the liberty of getting you to Ecruteak City quickly." Giovanni said. I looked at all of my friends and nodded, I unclipped my Master Ball from my belt.

"Here," I said, Giovanni took the Pokéball.

"A wise decision..." He said, he pointed at a few Grunts, "Take them all to Ecruteak City." He commanded. We were escorted to a helicopter, and were soon flying through the air.

I stared into space, not thinking about or even aware of my surroundings, had I made the right choice? Just giving Team Rocket a powerful Pokéball like that? I know they would use it's power to take control of Mewtwo, but I had my friends at stake, I couldn't just refuse, he would have taken the ball from me anyways, except for by force. I had no choice, ugh, I was so blind! Why didn't I see the sign to avoid the route? They said it was obvious, if had just not gotten so mad at May and Dawn, we would be traveling safely, not worrying about what Team Rocket was up to. If someone gets hurt because of all of this, I will never forgive myself.

"I have to get that Master Ball back..." I said quietly to myself.

"What did you say Ash?" May asked, she was sitting next to me. I turned my head and looked at her.

May...

I knew what I did was right giving him the Master Ball, if May had been hurt in anyway, I would have killed someone, possibly myself. I shook my head.

Kill someone? Why? That's going a bit far I think. But the thought of May getting hurt got me angry. I guess the feeling was because she was a friend, but... It felt a like more than that. The only other people who would make me feel like that would be my mom and Pikachu. What the heck am I thinking? I shook my head again.

"Ash are you okay?" May asked, her hand gently rested on my shoulder. I snapped back to my senses.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine!" I said. We jerked around a little as the helicopter landed. My Pokémon, May, Dawn, Gary, Professor Oak, and I all got off, the helicopter quickly took off again.

"Well, now what?" Dawn asked.

"I think this calls for a poem." Professor Oak said.

"Not now Gramps." Gary said.

"I have to get my Pokéball back." I said.

"WHAT?" everyone said together, even my Pokémon looked surprised.

"I got to get it back before Team Rocket uses it and creates disaster." I told them.

"Ash, you can't just go back and try to get it back," Professor Oak said, "Just like in a battle, timing is everything."

"We need to wait for the best moment to strike," Gary said, "And right now is the worst."

"Well I can't just sit here and do nothing!" I said.

"Why don't you sign up for the Pokémon Contest." May suggested. "That'll take your mind off it for a while."

"May has a point." Professor Oak said. "While you are participating in the contest, Gary and I will return to our research for now."

"See ya Ash." Gary said as he turned around and walked away with Professor Oak. The rest of us stood there for a moment.

"Let's go and sign up for the contest," Dawn said, she grabbed my arm and dragged me towards the Contest Hall.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

I was the first to sign up at the desk, when the lady at the desk asked, "So who will be your partner for this contest?"

"Partner?" I asked, Dawn and Ash both looked confused.

"I don't know? The contests here in Ecruteak City contain tag battles." She said, two ribbons are rewarded to the Tag Team that wins the contest." The woman said.

"Would you pardon me for a second?" I dragged Ash and Dawn out if the Pokémon Center.

"I think that will be a great." Ash said, "Both of you could get a Ribbon in one contest if you guys win."

"I'm not teaming up with 'Princess' here!" Dawn said. I got in her face, steaming mad.

"Would you stop calling me that?" I yelled at her.

"Stop calling you what, Princess?" Dawn shot back.

"Princess!"

"I can hear you Princess..."

"YOU CAN HEAR ME JUST FINE YOU LITTLE-"

We were interrupted by a voice "What's up you guys." we looked over to where the voice came from, and found Brendan was approaching us.

"Brendan..." Dawn said coldly, "YOU LITTLE SNITCH!" Brendan's expression turned from happy to scared.

"Uh ho..." He gulped. Dawn charged at Brendan but Ash's grabbed her, and held her in a bear hug that she couldn't escape from, she calmed down almost immediately, enjoying Ash's embrace.

"What do you have against Brendan Dawn?" Ash asked.

"Oh just a little grudge, that's all. It's no big deal, nothing to get super angry about..." Dawn said. Brendan and I sweat-dropped.

"So Ash," I said, "Would you pair up with me for the contest?"

"No! Pair up with me!" Dawn said. Brendan gave us odd looks.

"Sorry May, but I'm gonna pair up with Dawn this time, you're a ribbon ahead of her." Ash said, my heart sank. Stupid ribbon, why couldn't Dawn have won that contest.

"Thank you Ash!" Dawn said as she tackled him to the ground.

"Are you okay, May?" Brendan asked, I was not. I was sad, upset, disappointed, and jealous.

"I'm fine Brendan." I said, "Hey, would you like to pair up with me for this contest?" I asked.

"Well... I never have participated in one, I'm just here for a gym battle." Brendan said,

"Pleeeeeease?" I begged, I was not going to pair up with some stranger, Brendan was the only other person here that I knew.

"Oh, all right," Brendan said. Dang I really owed this guy.

"Thank you." I said, I was not going to knock him to the ground like Dawn did to Ash. We all went in and signed up.

"We should probably go train for a little while." Ash told Dawn.

"Yeah, by ourselves!" Dawn said, she grabbed Ash and dragged him away, the thought of them being alone together did not appeal to me, but there wasn't anything I could do at the moment.

"You like him, don't you." I jumped a little, and turned to see Brendan smirking at me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, trying to act like I didn't already know.

"Come on May, it's pretty obvious." Brendan said, "I'm surprised Ash hasn't notices yet.

"Ash is too dense to notice..." I said glumly.

"Why don't you just tell him?" Brendan asked.

"Because... I guess... I'm afraid of being rejected." I said, "Ash isn't someone who is interested in love, he wants to become a Pokémon Master. It's his dream, his ultimate objective; love is the last thing on his list of interests."

"Is that all?"

I stared at Brendan, thinking for a minute, "Well there's a chance he could like Dawn, or this other girl he used to travel with."

"But you just said he's not interested in love." Brendan gave me an odd look.

"I know... It's so confusing!" I said, "But it' like Professor Oak said 'Timing is everything' I have to tell him at the right time."

"Just make sure you're not too late," Brendan said. I sighed.

"Yeah, I know..." I said glumly.

"Come on," Brendan said, trying to lighten up the mood, "Let's go train."

**~(o'-'o)~**

**Much thanks to all who have reviewed and read, if you have a awesome idea for the story, send it to me, maybe I will like it and put it in. also if you haven't already, check out my advenceshipping one-shots collection, I will be updating that soon too.**


	11. Chapter 11: The Bicker the Better

**Chapter 11: The Bicker the Better **

**Thanks to all you wonderful people who reviewed, I read all of them. And a special thanks to ****Ghost of the Shadows****, who has been reviewing anything I publish since the beginning, read some of his awesome Advanceshipping stories if you liked mine (or even if you don't like mine) **

**Disclaimer: don't own Pokemon, or the title of the chapter for that matter (Most Advanceshippers probably recognize it)**

**~(o'-'o)~**

**Ash's POV**

"Welcome the the Ecruteak City Contest!" The announcer said, "Today we are going to watch many coordinators team up and show off their skills! Who's ready?" Even in the coordinator room, the roar of the crowd was deafening. This was the fourth contest I had ever entered. I never seemed to do very good, except for that unofficial contest with May, but that only had two rounds, and even then, I only tied. Of course, I had a type disadvantage during that battle.

"And next up are Dawn from Twinleaf town and Ash from Pallet Town!" The announcer said, me and Dawn went through the appeal with ease, we had practiced for hours trying to perfect it. May and Brendan also got through the appeal round easily. We battled other trainer teams, you could tell some weren't in sync. In the end, the final round was Me and Dawn against May and Brendan.

"I guess this was to be expected," I said. I hadn't had total confidence in myself, but Dawn's help, we managed. Now, we stood on one side of the battle field, while May and Brendan stood on the other, this would be interesting.

"Bayleaf! Take the stage!" May said.

"Piplup! Spotlight!" Dawn shouted.

"Fearow, let's do this!" Brendan stated. The Shiny Fearow emerged from it's Pokéball. So my old Spearow evolved.

"Alright then, Gengar, I choose you!" I said. "Dawn, you'll have a type disadvantage against May, so you take care of Brendan."

"Right," Dawn said.

"Fearow, Arial Ace!" Brendan's said.

"Piplup Bubble Beam!" Dawn shouted. The battle between them had started.

"Bayleaf, use tackle on Gengar!" May said. Bayleaf proceeded but went right through Gengar. "Oh no! I forgot normal type moves don't affect Ghost types." May said.

"Gengar, Shadow Ball!" I said, Gengar's shadow ball rammed into Bayleaf.

"Bayleaf!" The grass type said as she fell over. May and Brendan's points took a dive.

"Bayleaf! Use Razor Leaf!" May said. The sharp leaves scratched away at Gengar.

"Use Double Team to dodge!" I said. Multiple Gengars appeared on the stage.

"Vine whip on all of them!" May said.

"Shadow Punch!" I shouted. As the whips began to lash at Gengar, a huge fist raced at Bayleaf and knocked her away, stopping Vine Whip. I noticed a sudden draft. I looked over and saw thousands of Bubbles forming a tornado, Piplup was caught in the middle of it.

"Razar leaf at the tornado!" May shouted to Bayleaf. The tornado was now filled with razor leaves and bubbles.

"Ash! I could use some help!" Dawn shouted. I had to think fast and take a gamble.

"Gengar, Thunder Punch on the Tornado, and the fly as high as you can!"

"Spearow, fly high!" Brendan's shouted as Gengar lunged at the Tornado, his fist sparking.

"Geeeeeen-GAR!" He shouted as he slammed into the tornado with the attack before zipping upward. There was a huge explosion, lighting up the entire stadium. The end result was yellow, green, and blue sparkles floating everywhere.

"Amazing!" The announcer said, "The combined attacks of Bubble Beam, Whirl Wind, Razor Leaf, and Thunder Punch results and a magical display of sparks and sparkles flying everywhere! Never in my life have I seen such a colorful display. But it looks like two of the Pokémon are out."

I looked away from the effects the attacks created, and saw that Piplup and Bayleaf were both knocked out, while Fearow and Gengar floated in to the air, out of reach from the explosion. Both coordinators returned their Pokémon and congratulated them on a job well done.

"Looks Like it's just you and me Brendan!" I said, I took a glance at the scoreboard, we were in the lead by quite a bit, I just needed to keep Gengar from getting KOed.

"Spearow, Peck!" Shouted Brendan.

"Gengar, Double Team!" I shouted, Gengar split into multiples, avoiding the attack.

"Let's wrap this up, Hypnosis!" I said all the Gengar sent rings toward Fearow.

"Dive Fearow!" Fearow shot downward. "Now use fly!" He pulled up at the last second, and whipped through the air, attacking all the Gengars quickly. Until there was only one left.

"Let's Finish this!" Brendan said. He was going to take the bait.

May caught on to what I was doing, "Brendan wait! Look out for-" I interrupted her.

"Thunder Punch Gengar!" I called. The Gengar Brendan saw disappeared, and the real Gengar attacked from behind, slamming his sparking fist into the shiny bird. Spearow headed straight towards the ground, slamming into it hard and lifting up a lot of dust. When it settled, Fearow appeared to be knocked out. A buzzer blared as the judges declared Fearow out, Dawn and I were the victors.

"You did it!" Dawn shouted.

"WE did it." I told her, Dawn's face turned a little red, I was about to ask her if she was okay, but the announcer came up to us with two ribbons.

"Congratulations, you two, that was an incredible battle." She said, handing each of us a ribbon.

"Awesome! This is the first real contest ribbon I ever won." I said. Brendan and May approached us.

"Amazing battle Ash, I learned a lot from how you battled." Brendan said.

"Your Fearow was pretty amazing too." I told him, he smiled brightly. "Thanks, I think I may start become a coordinator as well as a trainer." Brendan said.

"Really?" May asked.

"Yeah, even though I lost, I had a lot of fun!" he said. "Now I have a gym battle to attend to after I heal Fearow at the Pokémon Center," Brendan said, running off.

"Bye Brendan," May said, "Thanks for being my partner! Good luck with your next Battle!" Brendan turned around and waved.

"Yeah, and make sure you get what you want before it's too late," Brendan called back, causing May to blush a little.

"See you around Brenden!" I told him.

"That's for sure!" He said, turning back around and racing out of the contest hall.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

"Let's get something to eat." I said as my stomach growled. Ash's stomach began to growl as well.

"Yeah that contest is making me hungry." Ash replied. We all headed to a Noodle Shop and ordered our meals.

"I was surprised at how well you did Ash." I said to him, "I didn't know you could be so good at contests."

"Yeah, maybe you should help May brush up her skills, looks like she needs it." Dawn said.

WHAT?" I shouted. The everyone in the restaurant looked at our table, Ash began to sink in his seat, Pikachu, Gengar, and Riolu copied him.

"I'm just saying, you were beaten by someone who had never won an official contest before, you're skills just aren't up to pare with the rest of the competition." Dawn said innocently.

"Oh yeah? You got taken down by your own team mate!" I shouted.

"Guys! Cut it out!" Ash shouted. We both stopped and looked at him.

"She started it!" I said.

"Did not!" Dawn denied.

"Did to!"

"Did not!"

"Cut it out!" Ash shouted again, "before we get kicked out." we sat in silence.

"immature little pest..." Dawn mumbled.

"THAT'S IT!" I screamed, I grabbed my cup of water off the table an splashed Dawn with it, she let out a scream.

"Why you-!" She grabbed a bottle of ketchup from Pikachu's mouth and started squirting me with ketchup, Pikachu was enraged and electrified Dawn.

"Guys, stop it!" Ash said, but as he reached over, he knocked over his glass of water all over Gengars fries, Gengar got mad and smacked Ash in the face with the plate of now soggy fries. All the while, Dawn and I were throwing any food in reach at each other. Suddenly, a hand grabbed my shoulder firming and a hand plopped down on Dawn's. We were lifted up and carried to the front door before getting thrown out, Ash, Pikachu, Riolu and Gengar quickly followed.

"Told you so..." Ash mumbled, laying next to me.

"I'm sorry Ash..." I told him... Again. Pikachu was apologizing to Dawn for shocking her and Gengar was also sorry about throwing fries at Ash. We all got up and Ash started laughing. I looked down at myself. I was covered in ketchup, pieces of hamburger, mash potato, and salad. Dawn was the same.

"I guess we should wash up..." I said. "I get the shower first!" I raced to the Pokémon Center, Ash and Dawn following behind.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

After I washed up, Dawn quickly raced into the bathroom as I left, with fresh clothes in her hands. Ash was sitting on his bed, Gengar and Pikachu were playing on the floor and Riolu was in Ash's lap. He looked down at Riolu, who was playing with a TV remote, flipping it around and occasionally tossing it in the air. We sat in an awkward silence for a while.

"So..." Ash said, "Great job during the contest today." I just nodded. "Don't feel bad because you lost, we all are going to lose occasionally." he told me.

"You just have to keep on trying!" he said smiling, he raised his fist.

"Thanks Ash... I think I needed that," I told him. He nodded and smiled in return. "So what about you? You ready for your next Frontier Battle?" I asked.

"Yep, right after I get that Master Ball back," he said. Just then, Dawn walked out of the bathroom looking very refreshed.

"What were you guys talking about?" Dawn asked. Ash was about to reply, but the TV turned on. Riolu had accidentally turned it on with the remote he had been playing with.

"Rayquaza has been in a mad rage for a half an hour now, reeking havoc around the Johto's Safari zone, Team Rocket have also been seen near the Safari Zone d-" The TV turned back off again when Riolu pressed the off button on the remote.

"They saw Team Rocket!" Ash said, "Let's go!" he hopped to his feet.

"Pika!" The electric mouse exclaimed. Along with Pikachu, Riolu, and Gengar, Ash dashed out the door. We ran after him and headed down Route 38. Ash seemed determined to find Team Rocket.

"Ash..." I gasped as we raced down the path, "could we slow down?" But he didn't hear me, that or he was ignoring me. I had never been a good runner, unless I was running from something. I fell to the ground, completely wiped out, Ash and Dawn continues running, not even noticing I stopped until-

"Gengar!" The ghost and poison type yelled.

Ash briefly stopped, "What is it Gengar?" Gengar gestures to me. "May!" Ash ran over to me, and knelt down beside me. I was breathing heavily and my face laid flat on the ground.

"Can't... Go on..." I gasped, I had a cramp in my side, causing me to groan.

"Are you hurt May?" Ash asked, concerned.

"Pika?"

"N-n-no, just a cramp..." I assured him, "go on ahead of me, I'll catch up." I told him.

"I'm not leaving without you May!" he said, "Get my back." he told me.

"What?"

"Just get on my back, just like back at the berry tree," Ash said, "Come on May, your not very heavy, besides, I'm 11 now, I can carry you for a while."

"Are you sure?" I asked, I just shook my head, "Just go Ash, I'll just be dead weight, a hassle, I've held you down enough..."

"That's not true May!" Ash demanded, "You're way more than dead weight, you're my friend, my best friend!" Ash got glares from Gengar and Pikachu, "I mean third best friend."

I giggled, some things would never change. I got up on Ash's back, he carried me backpack style, and quickly dashed down the path again. By the time Olivine City came into view. Ash was panting heavily, and fell to the ground similar to how I did before.

"I think it's time for a break." Dawn said as Ash laid there.

"No," Ash said between breaths, "let's keep going." he slowly tried to get up.

"Oh no you don't!" I stated pushing him back down, "You're taking a break. You just carried me several miles from one town to another, you need a rest."

"Don't be ridicules May, I'm fine." Ash said, getting back up, before his legs gave in and he fell on his butt, I smirked.

"Yeah, of course you're fine," I said sarcastically.

"Maybe a short break." Ash said, before we knew it he was fast asleep.

"Good job, May." Dawn said, "We could have found Team Rocket by now."

"Shut up, I don't feel like talking about it." I told her.

"Maybe if you weren't so-" Dawn began.

"Pika!" Pikachu interrupted, we forgot about him.

"Sorry Pilachu." Dawn said. We all fell silent. I began to feel bad, was I really a burden? It felt like Ash was dragging me along. He had done so much for me and I barely had done anything in return. He probably would have gotten all of his Frontier Prints if I hadn't come along. I sighed miserably, and I had reached a new low, he had to carry me on his back because I was too tired to go on, and he refused to leave me behind.

As I continued on with my thoughts I lost track of time, and Ash began to stir. He lifted himself up and moaned.

"H-how long was I out?" Ash asked. Dawn checked her PokéNav for the time.

"About an hour." She said.

"AN HOUR?" Ash hopped up and dashed towards Olivine City. Dawn, Ash's Pokémon, and I raced after him. Soon we reaches the City, although it was nothing compared to Goldenrod City, it was still huge. But there was nobody outside, and the doors and windows of every building were closed, and doors locked.

"Where is everybody?" Ash asked. "Last time I came here the town was pretty active."

"Hey you!" we all turned and saw a few Team Rocket Grunts running towards us. "You shouldn't be out here! We'll have to take you in!" One shouted.

"Run!" Ash yelled, I picked up Riolu and Pikachu hopped on his should before we all dashed away from the grunts.

"Where are we running to?" Dawn asked as we sped down the road.

"I don't know!" Ash replied, "Away from them!" We rounded a few corners trying to lose the grunts, but they kept up. Suddenly I lost my footing and fell to the ground, scraping my knees on the rough road.

"May!" Ash called as he came to a stop and started to pull me up. But it was too late, the Grunts caught up and grabbed us all.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Ash's POV**

I slammed myself against the iron bars of the cage I was in, which all resulted with a sharp pain shooting through my shoulder.

"Agh!" I knelt down, grabbing my shoulder with my hand.

"Ash, please stop..." May said, concern was evident in her voice. I just ignored her, breathing heavily. I backed up, and charged at the bars with my other shoulder, the iron bars barely budged.

"Ash, please..." May said again, I backed up still holding into my hurt shoulder, I charged at the bars again, making no progress. I backed up again to try for the umpteenth time.

"Ash! Cut it out!" May grabbed me and pulled me backwards, keeping me from ramming into the seemingly unbreakable bars again.

"I got to get out of here May, they have our Pokémon!" I shouted, getting a bit frustrated.

"All you're doing is hurting yourself!" May shouted back in my ear, still holding me back. My ears rang, as I felt her remove the hand that was still clutching my shoulder, she slid my jacket down a little bit so she could get a better look at it, and after inspecting it, began to gently massage it. At first it hurt a little, causing me to wince, but soon it started to feel good. May, Dawn, and I had all been thrown in the same cell. Dawn was supposedly sleeping on the ground while May and I sat on the ground, May sat behind me massaging my shoulder.

We sat there in an awkward silence until I asked, "So when did you become such a doctor?"

May gave me a funny look, "What do you mean? I'm not a doctor."

"I mean like, you taking care on my arm and now my shoulder," I explained. She sighed.

"I picked it up from several different places," was all she said. The awkward silence continued again. May just continued to massage my shoulder.

"Ash..." May began, breaking the silence, "I have a serious question, can you be completely honest with me?"

"Of course May, I don't have anything to hide," I told her, wondering what was on her mind. There was a dramatic pause.

"Do... Do you think I'm holding you back?" she finally asked.

"Of course not!" Was my automatic response. "I mean, sure we stop in a few towns so you and Dawn can participate in contests, but I enjoy those, I learn a lot from them."

"I guess that's not what I mean," May said, "I'm talking about like, when you carried me to Olivine City, or when I hurt myself by the gigantic berry tree or..." her voice began to crack, "earlier, when we got capture because I tripped and fell." Was that what this was all about? And was now really the time to talk about it? I was about to respond, but she continued.

"I mean, I even got caught by Team Rocket on the way to Ecruteak City," she was crying now, "Ash, I feel like I've been nothing but a pain, you do so much for me, but I never return anything back." She continued to massage my shoulder, what could I tell her to make her feel better?

"May, you know that's not true," I said, trying to buy more time to think, "Think of all the great things you've done."

"Like what?" She asked, she was beginning to sound depressed, I had to think fast.

"That's easy," I told her, "What your doing right now, taking care of my shoulder after I hurt it, taking care of my arm, cheering me on during battles, even sometimes taking great care of my Pokémon... And just... Just being my friend is enough, May." turned around to face her, she had a few tears running down her cheeks.

"You've a great friend ever since we met," I stated, "And don't let anyone else tell you otherwise." out of no where, May embraced me, she buried her face in my shoulder, still crying. Geez, I was never very good at this sort of stuff, I just made her feel worse, now she was crying more than before.

"Thanks Ash." She said, taking me by surprise, "Thank you so much for everything, you always know how to make me feel better." I didn't get it, if I made her feel better, why was she still crying? She finally wiped away she tears and gave me a weak smile, which I returned with a smile of my own. I stood up and fixed my jacket.

"Now how do we get out of here?" I asked out loud.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Pikachu's POV**

"PIKACHUUUUUUUU!" I squealed, releasing as much electricity from myself as I could. I was held in a glass orb connected to wires that lead to several lightbulbs, which lit up if I ever used an electric attack. Riolu was slamming against the orb he was in with all his might. Gengar sat in his glass orb, arms crossed; he appeared to be pouting because he was trapped. I had given my glass prison several Iron Tails, but failed to even dent it. All of our glass orbs sat high up on a self in the office of Team Rocket's evil boss, who was out at the moment. I could see Pika Pi's Master Ball sitting on his desk, along with the Pokéballs containing Pika Pi's, Chuchu Pi's, and Pikaka's Pokéballs.

Riolu look a little worried afraid he would be trapped inside for good. I tried a few more Iron Tales, I had to get free and find Pika Pi. I fell on my back breathing heavily, that glass seemed unbreakable. I heard a noise causing my ears to perk up.

"Pika?" I said confused, "PIKA!" Gengar stood by my glass orb, outside of his, I looked over, the ball that once contained Gengar was now empty, but there were no dents or cracks, it wasn't open or smashed.

"Pilachu, Pika Pika, Pi chu Pika Pikachu?" I asked, curious to how he got out. He walked to his old prison, and walked through the glass, before quickly hopping out again, the glass went right through his body. I face palmed, he couldn't have thought of that before? Gengar then proceeded to knock my orb off the high shelf I was on, and I raced towards the ground.

"Pikaaaaaahhhhh!" I shouted as I fell, the glass orb smashed into pieces as it collides in the ground. I saw Gengar peak at me from up on the shelf.

"Pikachu!" I said happily giving him a peace sign, signifying I was okay, it was cut short as I had to dodge the orb Riolu was in as it smashed into the ground as well.

"Riiii!" he said happily, grateful to be out. Gengar hopped onto the desk, knocking all the Pokéballs off, including the empty Master Ball. We all released Blaziken and Piplup, and together we grabbed all the Pokéballs, and with the help of Blaziken's blaze kick, escaped the office. After quite some searching and putting all the Grunts to sleep using Gengar's Hypnosis Attack, we found the room they kept prisoners. After another Blaze Kick we all ran in.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Ash's POV**

After having that little talk with May. I had paced back and forth trying to think of a way out. May sat on the ground with her arms wrapped around her legs, and Dawn was still sleeping.

Suddenly we heard a loud bang, waking Dawn up.

"Pika Pi!" I heard, my first Pokémon appeared, holding several Pokéballs, soon, he was joined by Riolu, Gengar, Piplup, and Blaziken.

"You guys escaped!" I exclaimed, Riolu squeezes through the bars with his small body, and tackles me to the ground, obviously happy to see me.

"Alright, May, tell Blaziken to use Flame Thrower on the bars," I said, we all backed up against the wall as Blaziken heated the bars up until they were glowing red.

"Now Dawn, tell Piplup to use water gun on the bars." Soon, the bars cooled down, but were weak and rusty, "Now Iron Tail Pikachu!" The electric types tail began to glow, and he slammed it into the bars easily breaking them. After retrieving our Pokéballs from the Pokémon, Pikachu happily gave me my Master Ball.

"Hey you found it!" I said as I took it, "Great job Pikachu!" I told him. We all ran out and into the hall, running around trying to find a way out. Riolu spotted the front door and hopped off my shoulder running toward it, but was quickly stopped by a group of Exans.

"Riii?" He said.

"Going somewhere?" We heard some one say, we turned and found that we were completely surrounded by Grunts and their Pokémon, Giovanni stood at the front with a smirk on his face.

"It's a shame that you're leaving, you all just got here," the leader said.

"What are you up to now?" I yelled, Giovanni smirked.

"I believe you already know that," he said.

"Then why is Rayquaza rampaging around the Safari Zone? What did you do? You don't need him any more!"

"We don't need him to get Mewtwo, but he is still a powerful Pokémon none the less. We decided we would pay him a little visit in Embedded Tower, unfortunately, he was far more powerful than we expected, now he is in a rage because we disturbed him." Giovanni explained, "But that is not important at the moment. Now be a good boy and give me back my Master Ball."

"It was never yours!" Dawn stated, "I gave it to Ash as a gift! You just stole it!"

"How precious..." Team Rocket's leader said, "Now give it to me!" we reached out and tried to take it from my hand, but I was not about to give it up as easily as before.

"Hand it over!" He yelled as he tried to pry it from my grip.

"Never!" I shouted, Dawn grabbed my hands and helped me pull the Master Ball away, May joined in and Giovanni let go.

"We'll just have to do this the hard way," He said, and then snapped his fingers "Get them." The Pokémon around us began to advance towards us, growling menacingly.

"Dragonite! Hyper Beam!"

"Electivire! Thunder!"

The room lit up as a huge explosion appeared, knocking everyone off they're feet, we hopped up and saw Gary and Professor Oak standing at the entrance with their Pokémon, while the Grunts were down, we all raced out the door.

"I got the Master Ball back," I said to the Professor and his grandson.

"Excellent Ash," the Professor said, "but we need to get out of here."

"GET THAT MASTER BALL BACK!" we heard from inside the building we had left. Suddenly, we heard a powerful roar, and a huge explosion erupted, Rayquaza flew threw the sky and a neck break pace, and he didn't look like he was happy. He charged up a ball and shot a huge powerful Hyper Beam at the building the Grunts were in, the building began to crumble and cave in. Several jets flew threw the sky, are shooting missiles at Rayquaza.

"Team Rocket is still trying to catch him!" Dawn said. Rayquaza quickly recovered and shot several Hyper Beams at the jets, the pilots ejected themselves before the jets went down.

"Pikachu, see if you can stop Rayquaza with Thunder!" I said.

"Piiiiiikaaaaaa-"

"Ash! Are you insane?" Gary asked.

"CCCHHHUUUUUUUU!" The Thunder attack flew through the sky, hitting the un-expecting Legendary, who roared out in pain, shaking the entire city. He turned and looked straight at me before flying down to the ground, in a battle stance.

"You guys get out of here!" I told everyone, "I'll stop Rayquaza!"

"But Ash-" May began.

"GO! NOW!" I shouted, with that, they fled. Rayquaza charged at Pikachu which surprising speed.

"Dodge it!" I told him, he barely jump away in time, "Use Thunder!" I told him, but Rayquaza dodged the attack. "This thing is fast!"

He charged up at hyper beam and shot it at Pikachu.

"Dodge!" But Pikachu was too slow, and was hit by the hyper beam, knocking him out. "In one hit!" I shouted surprised. Rayquaza approached Pikachu, and charged up another Hyper Beam.

"NO!" I shouted running to Pikachu, but the attack hit the already knocked out electric type. I ran towards Pikachu ad fast as I could.

"Ash! Are you insane?" someone shouted, but I ignored them, the only thing on my mind was protecting Pikachu. I leapt between the Legendary and the rodent, arms spread out.

"What kind of a ruthless monster are you?" I shouted extremely mad. Rayquaza was taken aback by my out burst, we glared into each other's eyes for a minute. Suddenly, it looked like Rayquaza's eye filled with sadness, and the Pokémon turned and raced high into the sky, disappearing from sight in an instant. _That was weird,_ I thought

I turned and ran to my best friend in the whole world. He laid on the ground, beaten and bruised, suffering from merciless attacks from Rayquaza. I picked up the limp rodent in my arms.

"Pikachu..." I said quietly, a single tear ran down my cheek. "I'm so sorry, Please be okay..." I felt a hand on my shoulder, it was May.

"Let's get him to a Pokémon Center," she said. With that, we headed to the Pokémon Center.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

We all raced to the Pokémon Center with Ash in the lead. He had Pikachu in his arms and Riolu on his shoulder, while Gengar floated next to him; we reached the Pokémon Center and Ash busted through the doors.

"Nurse Joy!" He shouted desperately, running to the front desk.

"It's... Pikachu, he's badly hurt." Ash said, Nurse Joy took Pikachu from Ash.

"Oh my! He looks like he was beaten to the verge of death!" Nurse Joy shouted.

"Verge of death?" Ash repeated in despair, he fell to his knees.

"I will do everything I can to heal him." Nurse Joy said, hurrying off with Pikachu, a Chansey by her side. Ash didn't move from his spot on the ground.

"Gengar..." The Shadow Pokémon said sadly.

"Ash..." I began walking over to him.

"Just... Leave me alone..." he hopped up and raced out of the Pokémon Center.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Ash's POV**

I ran, no destination in mind, when I finally stopped to catch my breath, I found myself deep in the forest, by a huge lake.

"I'm so sorry Pikachu..." was all I said, "Please be okay..."

"Riah..."

I had forgotten Riolu was still with me. He sat on my shoulder similar to how Pikachu did.

"Riolu, if Pikachu doesn't come out of this okay... I'll... I'll never forgive myself." I told him.

"Rii Riah Roa Rii."

"Yeah, you're right; we need to get back to the Pokémon Center, to be with Pikachu..." I agreed, we quietly walked back to the Pokémon Center, and found everyone sitting quietly in the lobby. Dawn looked up at me and gave me a sad smile, before walking over and embracing me.

"It'll be okay Ash," Dawn said, "Everything will be just fine." I returned the embrace, and then headed towards the room Pikachu was in. The little mouse was lying in a bed; bandages wrapped around him almost everywhere, and had wire attached to him. I entered the room and sat down next to his bed. "Pikachu..." I said softly. Riolu stretched and laid down on the bed, quickly falling asleep. I yawned and leaned forward on the bed, resting my head on my arms, Pikachu stirred, but didn't wake up. Soon sleep began to take over, and I drifted into unconsciousness.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May POV**

I followed Ash towards Pikachu's room quietly, he didn't seem to be aware that I was following him. I saw him enter one of the many rooms in the hall, and watched through the window on the door. He sat by Pikachu quietly for several minutes before resting his head on the bed Pikachu was on and fell asleep.

I smiled, remembering the time we first met; I was ticked off because his Pikachu had destroyed my poor bike. I was going to give them both a piece of my mind, but when I opened the door, I found Ash laying next to Pikachu, the same way he was now. I forgave him for some reason, maybe because I knew he didn't mean it, or because of how he cared for is Pokémon, maybe it was something deeper.

"Gen?" I turned my head, Gengar was looking in the window as well, he floated through the door and snuggled in the bed with Pikachu and Riolu.

I quietly pushed the door to the room open, nobody of them stirred. I sat down next to Ash and watched him sleep for a few minutes. I myself began to yawn and rested my head on Pikachu's bed next to Ash's quickly falling asleep as well.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Ash's POV****  
><strong>  
>As the sun peaked over the hills, light went straight through the open window and on my face, causing me to stir. I shifted my head without opening my eyes, dang light was so annoying. It felt like something was breathing on my face, I figured it must have been Riolu or something. Finally, the light became unbearable, I opened my eyes and found May's face inches from mine, causing me to jump back and fall over on the floor.<p>

May stirred, opening an eye.

"Ash, what are you doing on the floor?" she asked, I groaned.

"I just... Fell over..." I told her, "what are you doing in here?"

"I figured you and Pikachu could use some company," she replied.

"May, if this about that whole dead weight thing, you don't have to so this," I told her.

"No, that's not it, I just felt like it," she said, her eyes wandering around the room refusing to look at me. I was about to question her, but got side tracked by a noise.

"Piiiiiiii..." something moaned.

"Pikachu?" I asked as I got up and looked at the yellow Pokémon. His eyes slightly opened.

"Pika?"

"Pikachu!" I shouted as I grabbed the Pokémon from the bed.

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu squealed, snuggling into my arms.

"It looks like Pikachu is getting better pretty fast," May said as she stood up and stroked Pikachu's head, causing him to coo.

"Yeah, you feeling better Pikachu?" I asked.

"Pikachu!" he chirped, but still sounded weak. Riolu and Gengar had now woken up and were talking to the electric type.

"May, thanks for sticking around for Pikachu," I said, giving her a smile.

"No problem Ash, but Pikachu wasn't the only one I came for," she gave me a wink.

"Who else would you be here-" I began to ask, but Nurse Joy stepped into the room and smiled at Pikachu.

"It looks like Pikachu is doing much better," she said, "but I suggest that he stays away from battles at the moment, he's still very weak."

"Okay, thanks Nurse Joy," I said. May and I walked back to the lobby of the Pokémon Center and found everyone waiting for us.

"Oh," Dawn said cheerfully, "It looks like Pikachu is feeling a lot better."

"Pi cha kachu." Pikachu replied.

"But he still sounds like he hasn't fully recovered," Professor Oak added.

"Yeah, Nurse Joy told us he needed to take a break from battling." I told them. My stomach began to growl.

"Sounds like someone's hungry," Dawn giggled.

"Heh, I can't even remember the last time I ate," I said.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

we all sat around a large table eating and talking. Our Pokémon were sitting on the floor, eating their own food. Dawn was absorbed with Professor Oak and his poetry, while Ash and Pikachu were talking about who-knows-what. I sat in silence, picking at the food on my plate.

"So where did you disappear off to last night?" someone asked. I snapped back to my senses and looked up. Gary, who had been sitting across from me, was giving me a questioning look and a smirk.

"I... I stayed in the room with Pikachu," I told him, looking back down at the food on my plate.

"Only for Pikachu?" he asked.

I looked back up at him, "What do you mean?"

"May, there is obviously more to it than that... Is it... Ash?" he asked, with a dramatic pause. I blushed, but did say anything, "So it is Ash." Gary concluded.

"Is it really that obvious?" I asked.

"Yes," Gary replied, "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that you like him." he was talking quietly so no one else could hear. "Even Gramps noticed how you constantly look at him and blush." Gary said.

"Yeah... You're not the first to figure that out," I told him.

"Oh yeah? Who else knows?"

"Well one person you probably don't know, Pikachu knows, and Dawn knows..." I sighed, I realized how lucky I was that Ash was so dense.

Gary chuckled, "Even Dawn? But she likes him too..." Gary said.

I glared over at Dawn who was still listening to the Professors poems, "There's a pretty brutal rivalry between us right now," I said. Gary chuckled again.

"Well, you got a challenge, Dawn isn't one to give up..." Gary said, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.

"You're right about that," I sighed, "You're sure right about that..."

**~(o'-'o)~**

**I'm back from DC, and my won't be going on any more trips for about two weeks, so… more time for writing, right? Take a second to review, means the world to me! Thanks for reading, and be ready for the next chapter.**

**BTW: I have a few ideas for other stories as well, so to people who review, should I put my main focus on this story, or take on multitasking and start another story?**


	12. Chapter 12: In Someone Else

**Chapter 12: In Someone Else's Hands**

**Next chapter up! Of course… you already know that… that's why you're here… :3 - I don't get this face, it makes no sense, what is it? A rabbit?**

**Speaking of rabbits, I don't own Pokémon, (WTH?) **

**BTW: some of you asked who was number one in the IGN 100 Best Pokemon thing, it was Charizard (Not a surprise I guess, I had guessed either him or Mewtwo)**

**May's POV**

Turns out there was a contest in town, so Dawn and I signed up. Ash was watching us both closely, making sure we didn't do anything to one another. Ash obviously forgave us, but that didn't mean he had forgotten. I went off to train my Pokémon, mostly because I felt awkward being watched over, but of course, Ash told Pikachu to go with me so that I would do anything "stupid." I found a spot to train and let out my Pokémon, Pikachu sat on the side lines watching. I felt so immature, I was being "babysat" by a Pokémom. We worked on battling, hoping we would train enough to crush Dawn and bring her down a few notches. I decided that I would use Blaziken for the appeals, hoping to please the judges by showing off Blaziken's sheer power.

After awhile, we stopped and headed back to the Pokémon Center, I found Ash snoozing under a nearby tree with Riolu snuggled up next to him.

"So he trusts Dawn, but not me?" I asked myself, I sighed and walked into the Pokémon Center. And to my relief, Dawn was sitting on the couch in the lobby quietly, Gengar was staring at her from the floor, she squirmed awkwardly in her seat. So I guess Ash put Dawn in Gengar's care, I couldn't help but giggle at the site, Dawn shot me a glare before I disappeared around the corner, Pikachu right behind me.

**~(o'-'o)~**

**Dawn's POV**

"I really shouldn't do this..." I told myself, "I reeeaaalllllyyy shouldn't do this. If Ash found out, he would be so mad. But May making a fool out of herself could make this totally worth it."

Ever since May had announced she would be using Blaziken during the appeals, my mind immediately started racing trying to think of some prank to pull. I came up with a great idea, it was fabulous. The only thing I needed was luck, and I was feeling pretty lucky today. I had finish preparing for the contest and May was in the bathroom dressing herself, her Pokéballs laid on the table outside the door. To pull this off I had to be fast.

"Buneary, come on out," my normal type appear, I grabbed May's Pokéball, I let out her Blaziken, who appeared to be unaware of what was going on.

"Dizzy Punch!" Buneary hit Blaziken knocking her over; I quickly returned the two Pokémon and raced out of the room, Leaving Blaziken's Pokéball behind.  
><strong><br>****~(o'-'o)~**

**Ash's POV**

My Pokémon and I all sat in the audience, watching appeals. Finally they called out Dawn, who managed to put on a spectacular show for everyone, getting almost a perfect score. A few other coordinators did their appeals before it was May's turn. She walked up to the stage confidently, determination burning in her sapphire eyes. She must have felt ready to beat Dawn.

"Blaziken! Take the stage!" May shouted as she released her starter Pokémon. The fire type appeared on the stage, but it didn't seem to have the same fierce look in her eyes as normal. It looked a little lost. Suddenly it ran at the wall and started slammed his head against it violently.

"Blaziken! What are you doing?" May shouted, desperately trying to get its attention.

"Oh my..." the announcer said, "It appears that Blaziken is confused, so she is hurting herself..."

"Blaziken! Stop!" May shouted to her Pokémon. But before we knew it, Blaziken fell over on her back, she had knocked herself out. The score board showed a score of zero.

"Disappointing..." Mr. Contesta said, "Honesty, I expected more out of you, May..."

"Certainly not remarkable," the head of the Pokémon fan club said.

"You should not be abusing your Pokémon!" Nurse Joy exclaimed harshly, "You need to be more responsible and take better care of your Pokémon!"

The crowd began to "boo" at May, who returned her Blaziken, on the verge of tears. She stormed out of the building crying. I quickly got up and went to go find her. I got outside, and looked around, scanning the area. I spotted May off in the distance sitting on a park bench, her face buried in her hands. I quietly walked up to her, not really knowing what to say.

"Hey," Was all I said, mentally kicking myself for not thinking of anything better.

"Just go away, I want to be alone," May said, her hands still buried in her face.

"May, you know I can't do that, you're one of my best friends. We are always there for each other," I sat down next to her, hoping to cheer her up.

"It's so embarrassing," May said, "Now everyone will think badly of me."

"Don't worry about it," I said, "I know that you take great care of your Pokémon, things will clear up." she leaned against me resting her head on my shoulder, that odd tingling feeling came back.

"This trip has just been one horrible thing after another," May said, "And it's all because of Dawn!"

I gave her a look, "May, you can't accuse Dawn yet, there is no evidence."

"What? Even after all this time, after all she has done to me? You don't think this was her fault?" May exclaimed, standing up.

I stood up as well, "Yeah! You know why? Because YOU'RE - NO - DIFFERENT!" I yelled into her face. She was taken aback, her eyes started to water again. I stepped back realizing what I had just done, this was the last thing she needed.

"M-May... I sorry... I didn't... I shouldn't have..." I tried to explain, May glumly looked down at the ground.

"Ash..." She said quietly, "Please be completely honest... Am I really just like Dawn?" a tear ran down her already wet cheeks.

"Well, I mean... Uh... You see..." I tried to say, but I couldn't really lie, "Yeah, you have been..." I sighed.

And there was silence.

"Ash... I screwed up again and again, so many times that I lost count..." May said, looking into his eyes, "I know I have said this to you more times than you can remember but..." She leapt forward and hugged me, squeezing me tightly. "I'm so, so, so sorry," she said, I lifted my arms and wrapped them around her, she was right, she had done a lot of apologizing since we had left Kanto.

"I forgive you..." I said. Geez, I must have a weakness to things like this, because I forgive way too easily.

"And this time I'm going to keep my promise, and stop this rivalry thing with Dawn," May said.

"That's a relief, I'm not sure how much more I could take." I joked.  
><strong><br>****~(o'-'o)~**

**May's POV**

Dawn won her contest will almost no trouble. And I could tell when our eyes met that she was behind what had happened before. Hatred burned inside me, but I had promised Ash that the stupid rivalry was over. So when Dawn joined us with her ribbon I congratulated her, much to my dismay, and stuck out my hand for a hand shake. She completely ignored me and began talking to Ash.

_I know I promised Ash that this dumb conflict was over, _I told myself, _But Dawn isn't making it easy_. We returned to the Pokémon Center, where the news was on.

"After Rayquaza's attack Team Rocket's Olivine City HQ was destroyed, several were found dead, but there is no sign of their devious leader, Giovanni." the news reporter explained.

"So they're still out there..." Ash said to himself, he started to space out.

"Ash..." I said, trying to get his attention.

"Ash!" I shouted, he jumped a little as he came back to his senses.

"Hu? Oh... Yeah?" he asked.

"Where are we going next?" I asked him, he still didn't seem quite there.

"Oh, where ever the next Frontier Facility is," Ash said, Pikachu was nodding his head in agreement.

"Oh really?" I asked, "And where is the next Battle Facility?"

Ash didn't answer at first, he appeared to be thinking. "I don't know," Ash said, "Scott normally finds us and tells us where it's at." both Dawn and I sweat-dropped.

"Why don't you call him?" Dawn asked; Ash's face brightened up. We went down to the Pokémon Center lobby. Ash rang Scott up, after arguing with an annoying secretary, and a bit of waiting, Scott's face appeared on the screen.

"Sorry about my secretary, we get a lot of pointless calls from people, she's just doing her job," Scott said.

"Don't worry about it," Ash assured him, "So Scott, where's the next Battle Facility?" Ash asked him.

"It's in the Safari Zone, so it may take you a while to get there," Scott said.

"That's actually pretty cool," Ash said, "I happen to be in Olivine City, which is pretty close to the Safari Zone."

"Well that's excellent Ash," Scott said, "See you there." Scott signed off. Ash turned and looked at us.

"Looks like we're going to the safari zone!" He said excitedly, his Pokémon looked excited as well. We left the Pokémon Center and headed towards the dock to board the next ferry to Cianwood, which we would have to go through to get to the Safari Zone. The ferry left shortly, and we all kept ourselves busy during the trip, Dawn and I were training while Ash was busy trying to keep Riolu from jump off the boat to take a swim. When I finished training, I walked over to him. He had a wriggling Riolu in his arms, trying to get out of the trainers grip.

"He's got quiet a lot of energy," I told him, as I stroked the blue fighting types head. He appeared to calm down as I stroked his soft fur, so Ash loosened his grip around the Pokémon. The second he did, the Pokémon hopped out of his arms and dashed toward the railing. Ash ran after him again, catching him just in time.

"Riolu! You can swim when we dock!" Ash said, trying to calm down Riolu. I couldn't help but chuckle, he would become such a great father is he took care of our children as well as he did his Pokémon. Whoa... Now I'm getting ahead of myself. I shook away the thoughts as the ferry landed and everyone got off. Ash let go of Riolu, who immediately took off to the beach and jumped into the water.

"You know Ash," Dawn said, "A little rest couldn't hurt."

"Yeah, but my Frontier battle-" Ash began.

"Your battle isn't going anywhere," I interrupted him, "lets go to the beach." Ash sighed in defeat, and with that, Pikachu and Gengar both dashed towards the beach and jumped into the water with Riolu, who had been enjoying himself.

"So May, are you going to go change, or do it right here?" Ash asked jokingly. Dag-nab-it, I had been trying to forget the day I stripped off my cloths, revealing my swimsuit, right on the beach in front of Max and Ash. I wasn't sure what had been going through my head when I did that, was it to try to get Ash's attention? I'll never know, I just wanted to forget about it.

"No," I replied, "I'll go change somewhere else." after we changed we let out our Pokémon, who began to play around the beach. Ash joined his Pokémon in the blue water, enjoying their company.

"Come on you guys the waters great!" Ash called out.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu chimed in. Dawn and I stood by the sea. The waves crawled up the beach washing over my toes, sending a shiver down my spine.

"Nah," I replied, "It's too cold!" I told him. Dawn was already in the water making her way to everyone. I sighed, and slowly started walking into the water.

"Come on May! The slower you go, the harder it is!" Ash called out. That might have been his way of thinking but I was not going to just dive into the freezing cold water. I finally made my way to everyone else, my hands up over the water, as I tried to keep as much of my body out of the cold liquid as possible.

"You'll get used to it," Ash assured me.

"Yeah, when I go numb!" I told him, he laughed and splashed me, spraying cold droplets of water all over me.

"Oh, you're gonna get it now!" I shouted, shoving the palms of my hands into the water splashing him back. Ash jumped to the side, avoiding the wave.

"Is that the best you can do?" He asked me. I lunged at him and clung on to him, he flailed around a little trying to get me off.

"Dawn! Help me out here!" Ash shouted, I felt more cold water splash against me, I let go of Ash and found myself confronted by him and Dawn.

"Hey, no fair!" I complained, "Wartortle! Water Gun!" My water type jumped high in the air, charging up for an attack.

"Uh ho..." Ash said, "Totodile, deflect that with your own Water Gun!" Ash's water type lunged into the air and both Pokémon let our blasts of Water from their mouths, causing an explosion in the sky. Water flew everywhere as if it was raining. When it settled Ash was laughing.

"Looks like we managed to get you wet," He laughed, joined in by Dawn. I was soaked to the bone, but I wasn't cold anymore, we all laughed, and continued to swim. Suddenly, there was an explosion, the earth shook.

"What was that?" Ash asked, but I new exactly what it was. Off on the beach was Quilava and Blaziken a safe distance from the water. They stood face to face, glaring at each other; the sand between them was black and smoky. The two fire types lunged at each other, Quilava used Fire Spin while Blaziken used Overheat, the two collided resulting in another explosion.

"You two got to return your Pokémon!" Ash shouted over the noise from the battle. Dawn and I raced to the sand and grabbed our Pokéballs, returning the two fire types. Ash joined us on the beach.

"I wonder what that was about..." He said, suddenly, there was another explosion and a huge wave erupted from the ocean.

"Look!" Dawn shouted, This time it was Piplup facing off against Wartortle, Piplup sent out a bubble beam while Wartortle sent out her own. I raced into the water and returned Wartortle. Before I could even stop to take a breath I found Ice shards and Leaves everywhere, Bayleaf and Mamoswine where attacking each other full force. Dawn grabbed a Pokéball and returned Mamoswine, I got back to were my Pokéballs were and returned Bayleaf as well.

"I wonder what that was all about..." Ash said thoughtfully, "Let's see... Brock says that Pokémon reflect the feelings of their trainers..." Ash stopped and gave us both looks, "So I take it your rivalry is still pretty intense..." we both nodded, glaring at each other in the process, Ash sighed.

"What am I going to do with you two?" he asked himself.

**~(o'-'o)~**

**Ash's POV**

I laid in my bed, wide awake in the dark room, Pikachu, Gengar, and Riolu had all fallen asleep next to me, I could hear Dawn and May lightly snoring. Those two crazy girls... This rivalry this rivalry was worse than how Paul and I used to be, but they hid it so well. When I wasn't looking, they would strike at each other. I didn't realize how bad the rivalry was until their Pokémon began to violently attack each other.

I rolled over and sighed. I was sad that two of my best friends couldn't get along. I wasn't going to pick a side, and I definitely wasn't going to make either of them leave. How could I maintain peace between the two. That was always something Brock would do, and he was good at it, me on the other hand, had no clue what to do. I sighed again, the little yellow rodent cuddled up on my stomach stirred, looking up at me.

"Pika?" he asked quiety.

"Yeah, I can't sleep; I got a lot on my mind..." I told him.

"Pika Pika!" He said cheerfully.

"Yeah, thanks for trying to cheer me up..." I told him.

"Pikachu!" He said happily, his cheeks sparking up a little, lighting up his smiling face. Suddenly, and idea popped into my head.

"If I want May and Dawn to become friends... I'll just have to force them..." I said.

**~(o'-'o)~**

**Ash's POV**

"So what is this?" Dawn asked as I had May and her wrap bands around their wrists. Connected to the bands were wires that were attached to Pikachu. The bands clicked on both their wrists.

"Well, you see, I've decided to deal with rivalry between you two, because it's getting out of hand," I told them, "you two are attached together to get to know each other, but if you start arguing or fighting, Pikachu here will stop you with electricity..."

"WHAT!" May shouted, fear in her eyes.

"I hate to do this to you two, but... I don't know what else to do about it..." I said glumly.

"But this isn't my fault!" May tried to explain, "Dawn started it!"

"Oh! Trying to shift the blame?" Dawn shot back, "I wouldn't be like this if you weren't here!"

"Oh yeah?" May began.

"PIKACHUUUUU!" Pikachu shouted, sending out electricity, shocking May and Dawn. When he stopped, May and Dawn stood there virtually motionless.

"Okay... I'm shutting up..." May said.

"Yep..." Dawn replied weakly, "Shutting up..." they both fell over in union.

"Uh... Maybe not so hard Pikachu..." I said.

"Pikahh..." he said, scratching his head sheepishly. I sighed, joined in with Riolu and Gengar.

"This is going to be a long day..." I said. The entire trip consisted of walking, and behind me there would be silence, at least until-

"Ow! Don't pinch me!"

*Slap!*

"How dare you!"

*Smack!*

"PIKACHUUUUU!"

*BZZZZZT!*

And then silence... Of course, the precious silence would be broken again when one or the other would touch each other. By the end of the day, May and Dawn must have been shocked by Pikachu more times than Team Rocket themselves.

I turned to Gengar, who was watching the two get shocked, "This isn't working very well, is it?" he shook his head. Riolu seemed completely oblivious to what was going on; he walked ahead of us, picking flowers or sniffing rocks. Eventually, we reached the Safari Zone, but it was late evening, so we had to check into the Pokémon Center. When we did get there, May and Dawn both looked like they had been through a war. Pikachu trudged in behind them, looking extremely tired. May and Dawn both fell to their knees breathing heavily.

"There's no way that could have been healthy..." Dawn gasped.

"Please don't make me do that again..." May pleaded.

"Pika Pikachu..." Pikachu pleaded as well, not wanting to go through that again. I put my hands on my hips and sighed.

"Well that failed miserably..." I stated. I helped them unclip their bands, detaching it from Pikachu as well. I lifted up the rodent.

"Sorry Pikachu, I didn't realize it was going to be that bad..." I told him.

"Chuuuu..." he murmured as he fell asleep in my arms. I turned to Dawn and May, who were brushing themselves off.

"I'm sorry you guys..." I told them, "I don't know what I was thinking; I just wanted to help..."

"I think we kind of deserved it..." May sighed.

"Yeah..." Dawn said quietly.

"Well, my battle is tomorrow, so I'm gonna go get some sleep," I said.

"Right behind you," Dawn said.

"Me too," May added.  
><strong><br>****~(o'-'o)~**

**May's POV**

"Well, here we are," Scott told us. We stood before a large mansion. After we met up with Scott at the Pokémon Center, we all had traveled through Johto's Safari Zone, and found the huge house right in the middle of it.

"Welcome to the Battle Castle, everyone," Scott said.

"Wow, this place is huge!" Dawn beamed. We all walked inside and were greeted by a man was glasses and a suit, and a woman with long blond hair and a pink skirt on.

"Ash, I'd like you to meet Castle Valet Darach and Lady Caitlin, the heads of the Battle Castle," Scott said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Darach said, "I hear that you're a powerful trainer." Ash began scratching the back of his head.

"Well, I'm not all that great," He explained, "I haven't even-"

"He's the greatest trainer I've ever known," I blurted out proudly. Darach raised an eye brow.

"Oh really? And who might you be?" He asked.

"Oh, this is May and this is Dawn," Ash said, gesturing to us.

"Which one of them will be battling with you today?" Lady Caitlin asked, now Ash raised a brow.

"What?" he asked confused.

"Oh, I forgot to mention Ash," Scott said, "In the Battle Castle, you team up with another trainer for a double battle against Darach and Caitlin. So you need to choose your partner..." Ash turned to us, although I wasn't exactly confident in my battling skills to face a Frontier Brain, I hoped that Ash would choose me over Dawn.

"Are either of you two up for it?" He asked, checking to see if one of us didn't want to do it.

"Yep," We both replied together.

"That's what I was afraid of..." Ash said quietly. He seemed torn between picking me or Dawn.

"Maybe we could flip a-" Ash began to suggest, but he was interrupted.

"Maybe I can be of assistance..." we heard, everyone turned to the front door.

Ash gasped, "What are you doing here?"

**~(o'-'o)~**

Cliff hanger… Well not really, because the chapters not over yet, this WAS supposed to be a cliff hanger, but I deleted a chunk of the chapter because I didn't like it and it just didn't fit well with the story, thus making a short chapter, so I continued, I figured I would keep you distracted while you read this so you're in a little suspense for a couple seconds, but now that you've realized that everything I'm saying here is of no importance, you will skip this and continue…

**~(o'-'o)~**

**Ash's POV**

"Maybe I can be of assistance..." I turned my head and saw someone standing at the huge doors, light dramatically shining from behind him, I instantly recognized the trainer.

"What are you doing here?" was my automatic response. The trainer walked up to us, the trademark smirk on his face.

"What's the matter? Didn't want to see your old rival again?" He replied.

"No, I was just surprised to see you..." I said.

"And who is this?" May asked.

"Oh, this is Paul. Paul, this is May, and old friend of mine," I said, introducing them.

"Oh, so was Dawn replaced?" the purple haired trainer asked with a smirk.

"No!" Dawn shouted, "I was not replaced!" May covered her mouth; it appeared as if she was trying to cover up a laugh. Paul gave Dawn an odd look.

"Whatever..." he said, "I'm here to win my next Frontier Print."

"You're doing the Battle Frontier too?" I asked. He looked at me.

"Anything to make me stronger..." Was all he said.

"Oh yeah!" May said, "I remember Ash talking about you! He said you mistreated your Pokémon!" I sweat-dropped, Paul gave me a cold stare.

"I've changed Ketchum..." He growled.

"I know! I know!" I said, waving my hand in front if me, "That was before… all that, back when you really did-"

"Do we really have to talk about this?" He interrupted me, obviously not wanting to talk about the past. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"So... How many prints do you have?" I asked him, hoping to change the subject.

He dug through his pocket and pulled out three pieces of paper, "Only three," he said.

"Wow, I only have two..." I said.

"Hmph... Weak like always," Paul grunted.

"What?" I shouted, nobody was better at getting me mad than Paul.

A smirk appeared on the trainers face again, "And you can't take a joke either..." he said, I cooled off.

"Hey Paul, want to partner up for the battle?" I asked, praying he would say yes so that I would have to choose between May or Dawn. My old rival sighed.

"I guess just this one time..." he said.

"Awesome!" I shouted, raising my fist into the air. I glanced at May and Dawn, they both appeared to be disappointed, but I didn't want to pick one and the other be offended. Picking Paul meant that I didn't have to exclude one of them and supposedly pick a favorite.

"Can we just start the battle? I hate waiting!" Lady Caitlin shouted impatiently.

"Yes, let's start right away!" Darach exclaimed. We all walked down a large hall way up to massive doors, which automatically opened as we approached it, revealing a huge battle field. Along with Scott, May and Dawn sat in the bleachers, obviously not planning to do any cheerleading after my last Frontier Battle. Paul and I stood on one side of the battle field. While Darach and Caitlin stood on the other side. A fancy dressed judge stood on the sides and began to shout the rules.

"This will be a Tag Battle with the team Ash and Paul against the team Darach and Caitlin, each member is only allowed one Pokémon. The side that knocks out all of the Pokémon on the opposite side wins.

"Give it your all! Houndoom!" Darach shouted as he threw a Pokéball into the airs, releasing the fire/dark type.

"Gallade! Let's show them some power!" Caitlin exclaimed.

"Wow, that's a good team..." I said, "You ready Paul?" he nodded.

"Riolu! I choose you!" I shouted. Riolu looked up at me surprised, obviously surprised I chose him, but soon his face lit up and he leapt into the air and did a double flip, and epically landed on the ground, prepared for battle.

"I hope that runt is more than he appears..." Paul stated, earning a growl from Riolu. Paul shrugged and pulled out his Pokéball, "Honchkrow, stand by for battle." Paul said as he tossed his Pokéball in the air, the dark/flying type appeared in the air.

"Interesting selections, but don't think your win easily with the type advantage," Darach said. "En garde!"

"Gallade!" Caitlin shouted, "Use Psycho Cut on the little blue thing!"

"Um... That's called a Riolu..." Darach corrected her. Ballades arms began to glow, it rapidly swim it's arms around send glowing blades at Riolu.

"Riolu! Dodge it!" Riolu flipped backwards and did a summersault, avoiding the attack.

"Looks like it's got speed on it's side," Paul observed.

"Night Slash!" Caitlin exclaimed, she didn't appear to be pleased that Riolu avoided the attack.

"Honchkrow, Deflect with Night Slash!" Honchkrow's wings began to glow purple. Sparks flew as the two Pokémon collided.

"Houndoom! Flame Thrower while Honchkrows preoccupied!" Darach ordered. The Houndoom threw its head back and started charging up, for it's attack.

"Riolu! Stop it with Force Palm!" I ordered. Riolu fearlessly raced towards the Houndoom. He rest placed his paw on the Houndoom and an eruption of green light from the hand knocked Houndoom to the side, it quickly got up and growled at Riolu.

"Use Slash on the ugly bird!" Caitlin ordered Gallade, who jumped in the air over Honchcrow.

"Aerial Ace to dodge!" Paul said. Honchkrow disappeared out from under Gallade, and reappeared next him, attacking it and sending it to the ground.

"Grrr... Garach! Get that bird!" Caitlin ordered infuriated that she couldn't hit it.

"Right away! Houndoom, Shadow Ball!" Garach ordered. The Houndoom charged up a ball and hurled it at Hounchkrow.

"Just deflect it with you own," Paul said plainly. The Honchkrow released its own Shadow Ball, the two collided and a purple explosion erupted. The force of the explosion sent Honchkrow to the ground.

"Night Slash!" Caitlin ordered. Gallade lunged at Honchkrow and hit it hard with Night Slash, sending Honchkrow into the wall.

"Finish it with Shadow Ball," Darach said, snapping his fingers. Another Black orb headed towards Honchkrow, but he was stuck and wouldn't be able to dodge the attack. Out of nowhere and blue orb shot towards the Shadow Ball, causing it to explode, and leaving Honchkrow unharmed.

"Where did that come from?" Darach asked, everyone looked at Riolu, who was standing on the field with his arms stretched out, he appeared to be charging a blue ball, which he released at Houndoom, who took the full force of the attack.

"But, Riolu can't use the Aura!" Darach exclaimed in disbelief.

"It appears that Riolu has learned Aura Sphere." Paul said.

Without a word, Riolu leapt into the air with another blue ball, and shot the Aura Sphere at Houndoom, who barely leapt out of the way in time.

"So you're saying that it's a special blue thing?" Caitlin asked.

"Yes very few Riolu are capable of learning to use their Aura to attack," Darach stated proudly, "Now Houndoom, use Flame Thrower in Riolu!"

"Honchkrow, use Aerial Ace on Gallade," Paul said.

"Riolu, dodge that flame thrower!" I shouted. As Honchkrow disappeared from thin air, Riolu did several cart wheels to avoid the flames.

"Your little Riolu is quiet a show off," Darach said chuckling.

"GALLAAAAAADE!" the physic/fighting type exclaimed as Honchkrow flew into him with Aerial Ace.

"Caitlin, I think it's time we used our combination," Garach said.

"With pleasure!" Caitlin said.

"Houndoom, Fire Spin!"

"Gallade, Psycho Cut!"

The spiraling fire enveloped the Psycho Cut projectiles and created a light/fire vortex.

"Use Night Slash on it!" Caitlin exclaimed.

"Honchkrow, shield Riolu with your wings," Paul said, His Honchkrow flew to Riolu with great speed and wrapped its wings around the fighting type. The Night Slash hit the vortex, creating a huge explosion, which lit the entire room. As the smoke dispersed, that was on the field was a tired Houndoom and Gallade, as well as a scorched Honchkrow and a perfectly fine Riolu.

I turned to Paul, "Let's give them a combination of our own." I told him, he turned and nodded.

"Just tell your Riolu to keep use Aura Sphere, I'll do the rest," He said.

"Okay, Riolu, continually use Aura Sphere," I shouted, Riolu nodded and shot out a ball.

"Hounchkrow Shadow Ball!" Paul exclaimed. The attacked collided, creating and explosion, but it was hit by another Aura Sphere, and another Shadow Ball, and another Aura Sphere. Soon it was a big jiggling blue and purple ball.

"Throw Riolu into the air and use Aerial Ace!" Paul said. Honchcrow grabbed Riolu with it's talons, and hurled him into the air, Honchcrow disappeared and reappered, slamming into the delicate orb, causing it to erupt. I had to shield my eyes from the blinding light from the explosion. When it I could see again, I saw Houndoom and Gallade knocked out on the ground, as well as Hounchkrow, who must have gotten knocked out by the explosion as well.

"But... Where's-" I began.

"RIIIIIIII!" I heard from above, I looked up and saw Riolu headed straight towards me. I barely managed to catch the fighting type as he fell from the sky.

"Why did you throw Riolu up in the air?" I asked Paul, he shrugged.

"One of our Pokémon had to still be up to win," Was his reply.

"Excellent job both of you," Darach began, "You two make a great team, your Pokémon fought well together." He pulled out two pieces of paper, "Here are both of your commemorative prints for the Battle Castle, you two earned them. I looked at the print, it was golden like the others, it had the Battle Castle in the background, and Darach with Lady Caitlyn on one side, on the opposite side was Paul and I, with Pikachu, Riolu, and Gengar.

"Alright!" I shouted, jumping into the air, "We got the Battle Castle Print!" I exclaimed, Pikachu, Gengar, and Riolu all hopped into the air as well. I turned turned to Paul, who had a smirk on his face.

"Great Job," I told him extending a hand for a hand shake, suddenly Paul's eyes widened and he took a step back.

"What?" I asked, suddenly two arms wrapped around me and knocked me over into Paul knocking Paul over as well.

"You beat them Ash!" I heard Dawn exclaim from behind.

"Overly energetic spaz..." Paul grumbled as he got up.

"WHAT?" Dawn shouted, "I AM NOT A SPAZ!" Paul and I sweatdropped.

"See you around," he said, lifting his hand as he turned around and walked away.

"See ya Paul!" I called out to him.

"Bye!" Dawn shouted. May walked up to us.

"He's an interesting character..." was all she said.  
><strong><br>****~(o'-'o)~**

**May's POV**

"Pikachu! Seriously stop!" Ash shouted.

"PIKACHUUUUU!" Pikachu shouted as he shocked the young trainer. Ash had been trying to get a Ketchup bottle from Pikachu, who had been wandering around the Pokémon Center sucking every bottle dry.

"Pikachu! Cut it out! You're gonna get sick from all that!" Ash reasoned as he tried to snatch the bottle away. Pikachu's cheeks sparked up as he prepared for another lightning attack. Ash was already pretty beat up, but wasn't going to back down, of course, neither was Pikachu.

"CHUUUUU!" The room lit up as sparks flew everywhere. Bystanders were watching with interest as Ash tried to get the bottle from the unwilling Pokémon.

"Pikachu! I don't want to have to send out Gible to -" Ash began, but he was cut off as Pikachu's cheeks sparked up again. It was obvious that Ash couldn't stop him, so someone else would have to. I threw myself in front of Ash, arms and legs spread out, so there was no way Pikachu could get by me. I knew the electric mouse wouldn't have the nerve to shock anyone besides Ash.

Sure enough the sparking electricity disappeared as Pikachu looked up at me.

"Give me the Ketchup, Pikachu," I said, kindly, but sternly.

"Pika!" He squealed as he put himself between me and his precious ketchup, wrapping his little arms around the bottle.

I got down to my knees; Pikachu had a close eye on me. Suddenly, his face turned green, he began to rock back and forth. That was the first time I had ever seen a Pokémon vomit, and trust me, it wasn't pretty.

"Piiiiiikahhhhh," Pikachu moaned as he fell over, luckily not in the puke.

"Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed as he watched his best friend fall over. He picked up the yellow rodent and rushed to Nurse Joy.

I couldn't help but smile.

Even after all that, after all of Pikachu's Thunder Shocks and Thunder Bolts, Ash pushed those aside and made sure his friend was okay. It didn't matter what kind of cruel garbage someone would throw at him, he would always return in kindness.

"May?"

I shook head as I snapped out of my thoughts. Ash was standing in front of me, Pikachu was no longer in his arms, he had a grin on his face, that same old wonderful grin.

"Thanks for earlier... You know... With Pikachu and all that..." he said. I lowered my head, trying to hide my blush.

"Oh, it was nothing..." I replied sheepishly, he looked around.

"Hey... Where's Dawn?"

**~(o'-'o)~**

**Dawn's POV**

"So... I was wondering if you would be there in time for the next contest..." I said. The glowing screen on the TV phone lit up my face as I watched the person on the screen.

"Well, I don't know Dawn... It's kind of inconvenient," the person one the screen said. I put on a pouty face.

"Pleeeeeaaaaassssse? Both Ash and May really are going to be there!" I said.

"Really? Well, it's been a while... I'll see what I can do, later..."

"Later..." I said, the screen went black as I logged off. Perfect timing too, Ash along with May walked into the room.

"There you are Dawn, we were looking for you," Ash said. Let's go to bed, we got a long trip ahead of us tomorrow. May and I nodded, and soon we were walking down the halls of the Polémon Center, looking for our room.

"So who were you talking to, Dawn?" Ash asked, striking up a conversation.

"My Mom," I told him, I couldn't say who I really had called, or my plan would go wrong. I had decided that May wasn't going to give up while I used my current strategy, so I'd have to push her away with a different one.

**~(o'-'o)~**

**So as you know, if you took time to red that stupid little tidbit in the middle of the story, you would have realized that I tried to leave you with a cliffhanger, and epically failed… SO! I decided that I'd make a SECOND cliffhanger. So it's like getting a double dosage of suspense… but your actually not.**

**Thanks to those who Read and reviewed, your reviews are like chocolate covered bacon, melting in my mouth. (That means I like Reviews)**

**So who do you think Dawn was calling? I had two people in mind, which ever one you guys guess the least I'll choose ( Because I'm mean XD )**


	13. Chapter 13: Fierce or Not?

**Chapter 13: Fierce or Not?**

**So it's my Birthday, which is funny because I'm the one giving something out :P don't worry, I don't mind. Oh, and I got 50 reviews, that was my ultimate goal for my first Fanfiction, I'm so happy I got it so soon. Thanks for encouragement and positive feedback. And yes I know about some of the grammar problems, my lame excuse is that I'm typing the story on my iPod. I then check it on my iPod, and re-check it on my computer, oh well, I try.**

**Even though it's my Birthday, I don't own Pokémon. **

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

We woke up early to get started on our long trek to Mahogany Town, and to catch the early ferry. Ash kept a close eye on Riolu as we boarded. Gengar seemed to be demanding attention, floating in front of us and getting into our faces, maybe he just wanted to see a smile, or receive a simple hug, who knows...

The morning was uncomfortably cold, and a mist rose above the seas. I leaned against the cold railing with Gengar, whom I realized was probably making it colder because of how his body absorbed heat. The mist grew dense; you could slice the air with a knife. Down a bit was Dawn, who was also leaning against the railing. As I watched her, I couldn't help but wonder what was going through her head at the moment. I watched Ash join her by the railings, were they appeared to be having a conversation. Dawn rubbed her arms with her hands and shivered, reminding me of how cold I was. Ash looked back and forth, as is checking to make sure no one else was there.

He must not have seen me though, the fog was too thick, I could barely see Dawn and Ash from were I was. I watched Ash take off his jacket and give it to Dawn, who gratefully put it on. Come on, what about me? I'm the one freezing my buns off because of his Gengar. I sighed, I had been through quite a bit in Johto, some could say too much. I would be horribly upset if I didn't either win Grand Festival, or somehow tell the dense trainer I liked him. It was a bitter sweet trip, it could have been just a sweet trip if Dawn hadn't come along. Oh well.

"Gengar!" The purple Pokémon's friendly face popped up in front of me. I smiled and rubbed his head, which he seemed to enjoy.

"I just don't know what to do..." I told him.

"Gen?" He gave me a questioning look.

"How can I deal with Dawn, and not get in trouble with Ash..." I wasn't really talking to Gengar, more to myself, but the fact that he was listening might have causing me to continue.

"She's just got bags of tricks... She's a sly little Vulpix..." I said, I continued to stand in the cold with Gengar, unnoticed by Ash or Dawn, maybe it was because of the fog, or maybe because of he didn't care. I could only hope it wasn't the second one.

The boat's horn blew, signifying we were about to dock. I covered my ears, which rang even when the sound disappeared.

"May! Gengar!" I heard Ash call out, Gengar hopped on my shoulder as I walked over to where Ash and Dawn were. We strolled off the boat, into the foggy Olivine City.

I sneezed.

Ash looked at me, "Are you okay May?"

"Y-y-yeah, j-just a-a lit-t-tle c-cold," I stuttered as my teeth began to chatter. I sneezed again.

I wasn't going to blame Gengar, he couldn't help that he absorb heat, it was how he was made, but none-the-less... I was not just "cold," I was freezing.

"Let's go inside before you get sick... We can drink some hot chocolate to warm up," Ash suggested.

"N-no..." I said, "k-k-keep going, w-w-won't ho-ho-hold you bu-back..."

"You sure May?" he asked.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked, I nodded. I wasn't going to force Ash to stay in Olivine just so that I could warm up.

"Yeah, I'm positive,"

Oh how I regret saying those words.

We continued down the foggy route, the already cold air with Gengar's additional chill made things miserable... Too miserable.

"May... You don't look like you're feeling, very good..." Ash said.

"Nah, I-I'm fine..." I said, even my voice sounded miserable.

"I think we should at least take a break..." Ash said.

"Pika..." His Pokémon agreed.

"No, really Ash, I feel fine," Why I continued to lie, I will never know. It was more than obvious that what I was saying was anything but true. Ash put his foot down.

"We're stopping," He said as I slowly trudged past him. He grabbed my arm, stopping me dead in my tracks.

"Geez May, your arms is burning," he places his hand on my forehead, "And your head feels like its on fire," funny, that's the exact opposite of how I felt.

"You got a bad fever, we should stop for the day," He said, my eyes widened.

"No! We need to keep moving, we're losing precious time!" I said.

"We got all the time in the world May, we're going to-"

"No!" I shouted, startling Gengar causing him to hop of my shoulder, he got up and dusted himself off and floated a little bit away. Almost immediately, the temperature rose a bit. Ash must have noticed, he and Pikachu exchanged glances.

"That's was weird," he said, but I was already walking ahead of him, "May! Wait!" he ran in front of me. Dawn stood behind me, arms crossed as she tapped her foot.

"You're clearly in no condition to travel..." Ash said, "We're stopping whether you like it or not!"

"But-"

"May, you're not holding me back!" he demanded, we stared at each other, before I finally looked down.

"Okay..." I said. Ash made me sit down while he and Dawn set up the camp, it felt weird seeing them set up camp in the afternoon.

"Dawn, you stay here and keep an eye on May, I'm going to look for berries," Ash said as he left with his Pokémon. Dawn turned and looked at me, in an odd way, I almost felt afraid she would pull another prank while I was somewhat helpless. But she didn't do anything; she just stood there, watching me.

"Well..." I said, "Are you going to insult me, tell me how much of a hassle I am, how I hold everyone back and make everyone miserable?" I asked sarcastically. She didn't say anything she just plopped down in the grass. I cocked my head, that was new, no cold stare or remarks. Was she softening up? Did she have something up her sleeve? Or was it just temporary pity? I just sighed and flopped down on my back, my nose was stuffy, my stomach felt queasy, and I felt cold... So cold...

The leaves rustled, and Gengar hopped out, he walked over to me and held out a berry.

"Thanks, Gengar..." I said as I took the berry and bit into it.

Ash dashed out of the bushes "May wait! Don't eat that! It's-"

Suddenly, it felt like the berry I bit into exploded in my mouth, spreading a strong spicy burn in my mouth.

"A Spicy Tamato berry..." Ash finished.

"HOT!" I screamed as I jumped up and dashed around, it felt as if my mouth was on fire. "HOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOT!"

Ash got me some water, which I thankfully drank, making the burning fade away. I was breathing heavily, Ash standing in front of me.

"Are you okay, May?" Ash asked.

That was the last thing I remembered before blacking out.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Ash's POV**

"Are you okay, May?" I asked. May was breathing heavily and wobbling, suddenly her eyes closed and she fell forward. Luckily I caught her.

With the help of Dawn, we dragged May to her sleeping bag, and gently laid her down, she was still out cold. I wiped my brow and sat down, joined by Dawn.

I saw Gengar and Riolu playing around with Pikachu, chasing each other and what not. I watched them with Dawn, who sat close to me.

"Dawn?" I said, Dawn turned and looked at me, I continued looked ahead.

There was a dramatic pause

"Do you think I've been a bad friend lately?" I asked, finally turning to her. She looked surprised with what I asked.

"What would make you think that?" She asked, resting a hand on my shoulder.

"I don't know..." I said, staring at the ground, "it just seems like May has been miserable lately. She hasn't been her normal perky self..." I sighed.

"She seems to think she's been nothing but deadweight... Am I the one who makes her think that? Is that how I act without realizing it?" I asked, "I just feel like I haven't been there for her, that I'm the one making her feel miserable." Dawn wrapped her arm around my shoulders, a big smile was one her face.

"Of course you're not... You're a great friend," she said, trying to cheer me up, "The best I've ever had..."

"Really?" I asked.

"Really," She confirmed. I looked back at my Pokémon, they had it good, they didn't have a care a the world. I wrapped my arm around Dawn's shoulder, smiling.

"Thanks Dawn, you always know how to lift my spirits," I said, causing her to giggle. I stood up.

"Now," I said, "Me and my Pokémon are going to go train."  
><strong><br>****~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV****  
><strong>  
>"Alright Blaziken, lets start with Overheat!" I shouted loudly. I stood at the edge of a battle field, on the stage of a contest hall. A huge crowd was watching the battle. On the other side of the battle field, stood Dawn and her Piplup. Ash and his Pokémon were sitting in the front row of the crowd, cheering me on.<p>

"Come on May! You can beat Dawn!" Ash shouted, his Pokémon appeared to be cheering for me as well, Pikachu, Gengar, Riolu, and even Gible and Totodile.

"He's cheering for me..." I thought in disbelief, "Let's win this for Ash, Blaziken!" my fire/fighting type began to glow, and she let out a powerful pillar of fiery power a Piplup. When the attack was finished, Piplup was knocked out on the stage.

"Amazing! despite the type disadvantage, May's Blaziken took out Dawn's Piplup in one attack!" The crowd roared with applause, everyone was excited and cheered for me. Ash hopped onto the stage to greet me.

"May, you did amazing!" He said, causing me to blush. Then he took my hand, "I've been meaning to tell you something May..." he said as his cheeks began to turn red.

"What is it Ash?" I asked.

"I like you a lot... Like... Maybe even love you," he said quietly. I gasped, there was no way this could be true. I squealed and hugged him.

"I love you too!" I said happily. Ohmygosh, this had to be the best day of my life.

"Pinch me, I must be dreaming," I said, I reached over and pinched my arm.

"OW!" everything blurred, went black. I shot up from my sleeping bag, I was back at the camp.

"What?" Dawn asked.

"What?" I asked confused.

"What?" Now Dawn was confused.

"Ugh, never mind..." I grumbled, upset that that whole thing was just a dream. I got out of my sleeping bag and stood up. I looked around; there was no sign of Ash or his Pokémon.

"So where's Ash?" I asked, not really expecting Dawn to answer kindly.

"He went training," she said, as if there was no rivalry between us. I looked at her, giving her an odd look.

"What's gotten into you?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips.

"What do you mean?" Dawn asked innocently.

"You're not being the unbearable, obnoxious brat that you normally are, you're actually acting normal," I said, Dawn winced, as if trying to hold something back.

"I've decided to change," She said, seemingly unfazed.

I laughed out loud, "Right, when Grumpigs fly..." Dawn seemed to just ignore my comments.

"Hey May, feeling better?" Ash asked as he appeared from the forest with his Pokémon.

"Much better, thanks," I said. I heard a low rumble come from Ash.

"Heh... I guess I'm kind of hungry..." he said. He sat down in front of the fire, which they must have made while I was out. After Ash's failed attempt at cooking, (and almost setting the campsite on fire) we munched on some berries, (which thankfully weren't spicy.)

"Alright Pikachu," Ash said as he dug through his backpack. "Because you trained so well, I think you deserved this." he pulled out a ketchup bottle.

"PIKAHH!" No face could define a :D face better than Pikachu's face at that moment. He leapt through the air and seemingly soared to the ketchup bottle. He grabbed it and masterfully opened it, Ash handed him a straw and he happily sucked on his treat.

"Just don't over do it this time," Ash said, chuckling, Pikachu sweat-dropped and continued sucking the bottle. Ash handed Gengar a few French fries, which it Shadow Pokémon snatched and swallowed without even chewing, the rest of Ash's Pokémon had regular Pokémon food. After a while Ash put out the fire and we all fell asleep.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

"PIKACHU!" I heard Ash shout. I opened my eyes and sat up, rubbing my eyes, and yawning.

"What's going on?" I asked. I looked around, empty Ketchup bottles were strewn everywhere, and Pikachu has laying on the ground, his stomach bulging and a sick look on his face. Ash was digging through his backpack.

"Every... Last... One..." Ash said, "You somehow managed to consume all the ketchup!" Ash shouted angrily, Pikachu moaned and hiccupped.

"Ash, give Pikachu a break..." I said, looking at the sick electric mouse, "I think Pikachu has been punished enough, gesturing to the Pokémon as he vomited. Ash let out a sigh, and scooped up Pikachu.

"We need to work on this addiction..." He said as he looked at the Pikachu lying in his arms.

"Ri?" Riolu tugged Ash's pants.

"Don't worry, Riolu. Pikachu will be fine," Ash said. Pikachu vomited again, this time all over Ash.

"You have got to be kidding me..." He said.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Ash's POV**

Besides the fact that I started my day with puke all over me, the walk back to Ecruteak City went smoothly. We got to the Pokémon Center, where I took a shower and had Pikachu taken care of. Soon we continued to Mahogany Town.

Surprisingly, May and Dawn stayed quiet most of the trip. They didn't fight or bother each other, much to my relief. Riolu curiously looked around, hoping to find something new, Gengar was sitting on my shoulder, opposite of Pikachu.

"Ri?" Riolu, stopped wandering around and focused on one bush.

"What is it?" I asked. Riolu dashed into the bushes.

"Riolu! wait!" I shouted as I also dashed into the bushes. When I finally managed to get through the bush, I looked up, startled at what I saw. Riolu quickly jumped into my arms, as we were confronted by the legendary Pokémon, Entei. And it didn't appear to be very happy, it growled angrily at us.

"This isn't good..." I said.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

Dawn and I waited for Ash to retrieve Riolu.

"What could be taking him so long..." I wondered out loud. Dawn shrugged.

"I don't know, maybe we should-" She didn't get to finish her sentence; Ash ripped out of the bushes as if there was no tomorrow.

"RUUUN!" He shouted as he sped down the path.

"What for?" I asked, the bushes rustled violently as a huge Pokémon leapt into view, growling fiercely and eyeing Dawn and I. I pulled out my Pokédex out of habit.

"Entei, The Volcano Pokémon, it is said that when this Legendary Pokémon roars, a volcano erupts somewhere around the globe..." as if on cue, the big beast before us roared loudly, almost knocking me over.

"That's enough for me..." Dawn said, she dashed down the path, I was right behind her. Entei roared again before chasing after us, gaining on us quickly.

"He gaining on us!" I shouted as I looked behind, right when it looked like he was about to pounce, we heard Ash's voice.

"Totodile! Hydro Pump! Gible! Dig! Pikachu! Thunder! Gengar! Shadow Ball! Riolu! Aura Sphere!" Lightning, Water, a purple ball and a blue ball all hit Entei at the same time, quickly followed by Gible's fearless dig. Entei let out another loud roar, scaring all of Ash's Pokémon, causing them to hide behind Ash.

Entei lunged forward and head butted Ash, knocked him backwards onto the grass.

"ASH!" Dawn shouted, about to run to him, I grabbed her to keep her from doing anything crazy. Entei turned to looked at us, anger flaring in his eyes. Dawn and I backed away slowly.

"Run..." Ash said weakly.

"I'm not just going to leave you!" I said, although I didn't sound confident.

"Me neither," Dawn said, but fear and uncertainty was laced in her voice.

"Are you crazy?" Ash said, still weakly, "Run while you still have the chance... I'll distract Entei..." He slowly got up, it was apparent he was in pain.

"No!" I shouted.

"Never!" Dawn screamed.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" Ash shouted, he picked up a pebble and threw it at the Legendary Pokémon, Entei returned his attention to the young trainer, and began to menacingly advance.

"Ash! No!" I screamed.

Then there was an incredible roar.

A roar that would move rain clouds, and shake the sun. But it didn't come from Entei.

A beam... A bright beam, shot down from the sky, slamming into the Volcano Pokémon with a mighty boom. The dust around us lifted, blinding us all.

The roar returned, pushing the dust away. Flying through the sky, was the master of the legendary weather trio: Rayquaza... Again.

Entei, leapt into the air and released a Fire spin, which Rayquaza avoided with ease. The Flying Legendary flew through the sky, ramming into Entei. The Volcano Pokémon had taken enough, and fled. Rayquaza flew low, hovering just above the ground in front of Ash.

"Rayquaza... Thank you..." Ash said weakly, Rayquaza nodded and roared, before shooting up into the sky and disappearing into the clouds.

"That was a close one..." Dawn said, I snapped back to reality.

"Yeah... I've never been so scares in my life..." I said. Ash grunted before falling over, clutching his chest.

"Ash!" Dawn and I said in union.

"PikaPi!" Pikachu shouted. Ash laid on the ground, holding his chest.

"Entei... Sure... Packs a punch..." He said.

"Lay down," I ordered, which he obeyed without asking, I removed his shirt revealing his chest, causing both Dawn and I to giggle. It wasn't anything impressive, but it was still cute.

"Focus May..." I told myself, remembering Ash was hurt. I pressed down on a few spot, inspecting his torso.

"No broken bones..." I confirmed.

"How can you tell?" Ash asked.

"It would hurt pretty badly if I pressed down on you torso like this," demonstrating by pushing down on his chest.

"Can I try?" Dawn asked, Ash gave her an odd look.

"Why would you want to?" he asked her. She realized what she said and turned bright red.

"N-never mind..." she said, I sighed, but grinned inside. Yes, learning some of these medical things definitely had its benefits.

Even though Ash would be okay, we had to slow our pace down a lot.

"I wonder why the Entei attacked us..." Ash said, "Normally they just run away or something."

"I wonder if something made it angry enough to attack us..." Dawn said.

"I'm just glad Rayquaza showed up and saved us," I said.

"Yeah... That was interesting..." Ash said. We walked in silence, constantly checking over our shoulders to make sure we wouldn't be attacked again. Thankfully, as the sun was setting Mahogany Town came into view a few miles away. We made it to the town, but there was a problem... It was peaceful... Too peaceful.

"Sure is a quiet night..." Ash said, and on cue. The town shook, and a nearby building blew up, catching on fire. We all fell on our rears from the force, a painful boom exploded into our eardrums.

"No way..." Ash said, the Entei from earlier jumped out of the burning building. Almost automatically, I scooted closer to Ash, grabbing his jacket for a sense of security. The Entei looked us in the eyes, burning with anger, roared again, and dashed into the forest. I hadn't realized I stopped breathing and sighed in relief; I flopped down in the ground, breathing heavily, and was soon joined by Dawn, Ash, and his Pokémon.

"What's going on around here?" Ash asked.

"Let's ask," Dawn said as she got up, and walked over to the firemen who had arrived to put out the flaming building, Ash and I followed behind. Dawn walked right up to a man who was watching the fire be put out.

"What's going on here?" Dawn asked.

"Well, a huge Pokémon blew up the building, catching it on fire, luckily, there wasn't anyone inside." he said.

"No one was inside?" Ash asked, sounding relieved, "What was the building for?"

"It was an abandoned warehouse until Team Rocket started using it for storage," he explained, I gasped.

"Team Rocket?" I asked, the man nodded.

"I wonder if they are the reason Entei rampaging around like this..." Ash said thoughtfully.

"I don't know..." Said the man, "But it's a possibility." we thanked the man for the information and went to the Pokémon Center.

"There have been multiple reports about an Entei wandering around, appearing and causing destruction," Nurse Joy said, "It's rather frightening."

"We should check it out!" Ash said.

"No!" Dawn and I said together.

"It's way too dangerous!" I said.

"Besides... The local contest is in a few days..." Dawn said.

"B-but-" Ash began, but caved in, "fine..." he sighed glumly.

"Good, now let's get some rest," Dawn said. I really didn't have Dawn figured out, had she really decided to change? Or was it part of some plan. I shook my head, I couldn't worry about it now, I just needed to get a good night sleep.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

I laid in bed, unable to sleep. Above me on the top bunk laid Dawn, whom I'm pretty sure was fast asleep. And on the other side of the room slept Ash, with his Pokémon, he even let Gible and Totodile out for the night. I couldn't help but be amazed by the strong bond he shared with his Pokémon.

I had a lot on my mind, contests, my Pokémon, Entei, Dawn, Ash... It was one of those nights where everything was scrambled in my head and I couldn't think straight, and the things I did think up were unimaginable and made no sense.

I let out a long sigh. I got up out of bed, and slipped on my shoes, and quietly walked out of the room. I crept down the hall, and through the lobby. I pushed open the door outside and made a quiet exit. The gentle breeze cooled my face and blew my hair everywhere. I walked down the dark road, trying to clear my head. This wasn't something uncommon, I used to do this quite often when I traveled with Ash and Brock. Besides the rustling of the leaves, the night was quiet... Peaceful...

A gust of wind blew on me, suddenly making it strangely cooler... I shivered; I should have brought my bandana, that always helped keep me a little warmer. Wait, how did it get so cold all of a sudden?

"Gengar, you can come out!" I called out, figuring he would be the culprit for the sudden temperature drop. The Shadow Pokémon floated out of the shadows, right up to me.

"Heard me leave?" I asked, he nodded happily, before plopping down on my head.

"Gengar?" He asked.

"Oh, I just have a lot on my mind..." I said, assuming he was asking what was wrong.

"Gengar Gen Gengar," He said, I couldn't tell what he said, but I could tell by the tone of his voice he was being cocky.

"Thanks for trying to cheer me up," I said.

"Gen!" He said happily.

Out of nowhere, a claw came down from the sky and grabbed Gengar.

"What's going on?" I shouted.

"'What's going on?' is the question, indeed!"

"We'll answer you as we feel the need!"

Team Rocket's Balloon rose into the sky, Team Rocket stood with arms crossed, proud of their catch.

"Bringing the blinding white light of evil into the future!" Said the woman with crazy red hair.

"Thrusting the hammer of Justice down onto the black darkness of the universe!" Said the man with the funny voice.

"And carving our names into the rock of eternity!" Shouted the talking Meowth.

"The Fiery destroyer, Jessie!"

"And with Thunderous emotion, I am James!"

"And the wisest of the wise, Meowth!"

"Now gather, under the name of Team Rocket!" they said together.

"Wow... You changed your motto again? This is the lamest one yet!" I said, putting my hands on my hips.

"How dare you! I spent a lot of time writing it!" James said.

"You should have just stuck with the original, it was so much better, I mean… this one doesn't even rhyme," I told them.

"Ya tink?" Meowth asked, scratching his head.

"Um... You guys... What happened to that Gengar?" James asked. They all looked over the side of the balloon. And sure enough Gengar was missing; he had just floated through the claw. He appeared behind them.

Geeeeengaaaaaar..." He said angrily. The all gulped.

"GeeeeennnGAR!" Gengar shouted as he shot a Shadow Ball through the Balloon, making huge explosion, and sending Team Rocket through the sky.

"Wow, that's one mean Gengar!" James observed.

"It's Fiercer than a Legendary!" Jessie exclaimed.

"You know something we do that's become Legendary?" Meowth asked.

"We're blasting off agaaaaain!" They shouted as they disappeared into the sky.

Gengar fell from the sky, I reached out and caught him, spinning around and laughing.

"We did it!" I said happily, hugging the Gengar tightly, "Well technically, you did it, but I distracted them for you."

"Gengar!" The Shadow Pokémon said happily, before letting out a yawn.

I yawned myself, "I think you got the right idea," I said, "Let's go back to bed..."

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Ash's POV**

I for one, am not that ticklish, but May seemed to find the one spot that's sensitive. And I couldn't lie in bed one minute longer than she wanted me too because of that weakness.

"Really May, do you have to tickle me?" I asked while we sat in the Pokémon Cafeteria, she let out a giggle.

"If you don't want to be tickled, then get up when I tell you to," She said happily.

"Why does it have to be so early?" I whined, "I mean... It's not like your Pokémon Contest is today even."

"Because," She said, "I want you to help me train."

"What's wrong with Dawn helping you?" I asked, May coughed on the egg she was chewing, and Dawn almost splattered her orange juice every where.

"Oh yeah..." I said, "I forgot..." there was a long pause.

"So will you?" She asked.

"Will I what?"

"Help me train..." I looked up from my food, she was giving me big puppy dog eyes. "May, puppy dog eyes aren't going to make me want to train..." she puckered out her lower lip, causing me to sweat-drop.

"Fine."

"YAY!" she said happily. I looked over at Dawn, who was looking at her food disappointedly. Now I felt bad, she must have felt left out.

"Hey, May..." I began.

"Yeah?" She asked as she took a bite of her bacon.

"Uh, I know you two are rivals... But can Dawn come too?" Dawn looked surprised that I was asking, as well as May.

"S-sure..." She said, uneasily. I knew she didn't really want to let Dawn come, but I couldn't bear to just go off with May and leave Dawn by herself.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Ash's POV**

"Munchlax, use Focus Punch!" May shouted.

"Gible, Dig!" I commanded. Gible disappeared just in time to avoid the Focus Punch. He launched out of the ground, sending Munchlax backwards.

"Are you okay, Munchlax?" May asked, the Pokémon weakly got up.

"Let's stop, Munchlax needs a break, as well as Gible..." I said, I walked over to the Land Shark Pokémon and congratulated him on a job well done, and returned him. Gible was my last Pokémon, all of them were tired from training.

"Sorry you guys, I wish I could train some more, but all my Pokémon are too tired for more training," I told them.

"Maybe I could help them train," I turned around, the voice was so familiar.

"long time, no see," I said the person who was now approaching

**~(o'-'o)~**  
>Cheesy cliffhanger! :O :O :O Who do you think it'll be? I've already determined who it'll be, but it's still fun to guess right? I hope you all enjoyed another epic chapter of "Fiercer than a Legendary" because I know I did. Take a second to review, and until next time… stay tuned!<p> 


	14. Chapter 14: WoopDeeDoo for Drew

**Chapter 14: Woop-Dee-Doo for Drew**

**~(o'-'o)~**

**Everyone, let me introduce my new friend: Mr. Writer's Block. He's been hanging around for a while.******

**Sooooo, it's been a bit longer than normal, my excuse is I went on vacation (again) and then our car broke down, and when I finally got home I procrastinated. But hey, you know the old saying, "procrastination makes perfect." Honestly, I finishes the chapter a while ago, I just had to sit down and take take to correct it, and I found this one part that I didn't like the wording because I was afraid you readers might not understand what I meant, and you still might not completely understand what I mean there, so my apologies.******

**Enough of my ranting, this chapter will feature fights! Jigglypuffs! Ninjas! EXPLOSIONS!******

**Okay not really, don't worry there aren't REALLY Jigglypuffs in this chapter, and hopefully not in this story. So yeah, I hope you enjoy my new update, and hope that you'll stick around for the next chapter.******

**I don't own anything but the shirt on my back (and my pants for that matter)**

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

"Long time no see..." Ash said.

"Drew? What are you doing here?" I asked confusedly.

"Dawn invited me, didn't she tell you?" Drew asked.

"Woops, must have slipped my mind..." Dawn said rubbing her left arm, Drew didn't even glance at Dawn.

"You came all this way?" Ash asked, Drew shrugged.

"I was in Johto anyways..." he said before looking at me.

_Oh, no..._ I thought, _It's happening all over again..._ the last thing I needed was this, assuming that he still had a crush on me.

"So May, how many Johto ribbons do you have?" Drew asked.

"Two..." I said quietly, I would have had more if not for Dawn.

"Hmph," Drew snickered, flicking his green hair.

"Drew, you probably want some alone time with May, you know... To catch up," Dawn said.

"Yeah, there was something I needed to talk to May about anyways," Drew said, "Come on May," He began to walk away. What? I don't get a choice in this? I couldn't really refuse now, so I followed Drew.

"Dawn... So are so dead," I said user my breath as we walked away.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Ash's POV**

May disappeared off in the distance with Drew, leaving me with Dawn and my Pokémon.

"Rii?" I looked down at the Riolu tugging at my pants, who appeared to be bored.

"What should we do now?" Dawn asked.

"Um... There really isn't that much to do here..." I told her, "But there is a huge lake north of town..."

"Oh! We can go swimming!" Dawn giggled happily.

"If that's what you want to do..." I said, the second Riolu heard the word swimming, he dashed down the path.

"Wait! Riolu, you're going the wrong way!" I called out, he stopped in his tracks, spun on his heals and dashed past us again, this time in the right direction. Dawn laughed and ran after him, I let out a laugh myself and chased after them with Pikachu and Gengar hot on my heals.

The lake wasn't hard to find, it took up most of the forest. Pikachu, Gengar, and Riolu hopped into the water as soon as is was in reach. Dawn gazed at the huge lake in amazement.

"It's... So beautiful..." she said quietly.

"PikaPi!" Pikachu called out from the lake.

"I'm coming Pikachu!" I changed into my bathing suit and jumped into the lake with a splash.

"Totodile, Gible! Come on out!" I shouted tossing my Pokéballs into the air. Totodile dove into the water with Gible, both happy to relax after some tough training.

Dawn finally joined us in the cool water, letting out her Pokémon as well.

"To bad May and Drew aren't here," I said.

"Yeah..." Dawn said quietly, not paying much attention to what I really said.

"By the way Dawn, why did you invite Drew? Do you two know each other?" I asked, as far as I knew, Drew and Dawn had never met.

"Oh, haha, well... You see... I um... Wanted to... Eh... Surprise May... Yeah... That's it..." She said.

"Is that why you didn't tell anyone?" I asked, she nodded. I looked at Pikachu, who shrugged. "That's really nice of you Dawn, it's great to see that you and May have finally put your rivalries aside," I said, smiling at her.

"Yep, you shouldn't have to worry about that anymore," she said nervously.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV****  
><strong>  
><em>When I get my hands on Dawn... She is going to regret the day she was born!<em> I shouted in my mind. I couldn't stand it, Drew and I weren't "catching up" like we were supposed to, we just walked in an awkward silence. What was I supposed to tell him? There wasn't much to say. Why couldn't he start up a conversation?

"May... There's something serious that I want to talk to you about..." Drew said.

Me and my big fat mouth...

I knew where this was going, and I didn't feel like talking about it with Drew at that moment.

"Okay Drew, but you have to catch me first!" I said playfully. dashing ahead of him.

"May! Wait!" Drew shouted. I just ran, I had no destination; I just shot down the path, where ever that would take me. I started going down a slope, picking up speed, I was breathing heavily and beginning to sweat. My foot hit a rock sticking up out of the road, causing me to lose my footing and fall over. But of course, I had been going down a slope when I tripped, so I flew through the air and began to roll down to hill uncontrollably, screaming the whole way down.

Suddenly, I ground disappeared from under me and I became weightless: I was falling. I let out another scream before I felling into cool water. Water flew into my mouth and down my throat, I couldn't breath. I struggled a little before I started losing consciousness, I felt a set of hands and a set of little hands firmly grab me under my arms, then I blacked out.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Ash's POV**

Dawn and I were playing with our Pokémon, enjoying ourselves in the quiet forest, until the silence was broken by a loud scream. A flock of Pidgey, who were startled by the ear piercing scream flew out of a nearby tree and flew away.

"Look!" Dawn shouted, pointing behind me. I turned around just in time to see May tumbling down a hill, which ended abruptly off a ledge. May flew off the ledge and into the lake with a splash. Everyone swam over to where May landed, Totodile and I dove under water and quickly grabbed May, who was slowly sinking deeper and pulled her above the water. With the help of Dawn, Piplup, and Totodile, we dragged May to shore.

"Ash, May isn't breathing," Dawn said, sounding worried. I looked at her.

"What do we do?" I asked.

"Do you know CPR?" she asked, I shook my head.

"Nobody else is around!" I started to panic. I had never lost a friend on my journey, what could I do?

"I know CPR," I heard. I looked around, and saw Drew standing on the edge of the ledge May had just fallen off of. He hopped off and hurried over to her, kneeling by her side. He began to forcefully push on May's chest.

"What are you doing? That could hurt her!" I shouted as I advanced. Dawn grabbed my arm.

"It's part of the procedure, Ash!" She said, holding me back, I relaxed a little bit. Suddenly, May spit up a ton of water, before returning to her motionless state. Drew stopped pushing down, and lowered his head to her chest, resting an ear on her torso, while laying two fingers on her wrist.

"I have to give her air," Drew said uneasily.

"Uh... How do you do tha-" I began to ask. But immediately stopped and Drew opened May mouth and covered it with his own. His cheeks, puffing in and out as he forced air into May lungs.

May eyes shot open before she gave Drew a hard slap across the face, knocking Drew over. She began coughed crazily, trying to speak.

"Drew! *cough* you have *cough* *cough* some nerves *cough* kissing *cough* *cough* like that! *cough* *cough* *cough*" she managed before shoving Drew into the lake, before approaching him menacingly.

"May! Wait!" I shouted, grabbing her and holding her back, "Drew was saving your life!"

She turned and looked at me, her eyes burning with passion, "Was he? Or was he taking advantage of me while I was unconscious?" she said sarcastically.

"Um... He was definitely saving you. You weren't breathing so he was doing CPR on you..." I told her. She began to relax.

"Oh..." she said, "Woops..." she walked over to where Drew was laying into the shallow water, she gave him a hand and pulled him up.

"T-thanks... Drew," She said sheepishly, and hugged him. Drew seemed a little caught off guard, but returned the hug.

"Awwwww, how cute!" Dawn said, "you two go great together!" Drew blushed, while May shot Dawn a glare, it looked like she mouthed something to Dawn, which Drew didn't notice. The Pokémon and I just watched.

"Am I missing something?" I said, causing Pikachu to face palm.

"May, can we talk in private?" Drew asked, suddenly, my stomach let out a growl.

"Oh! Looks like it's time for lunch!" May said, quickly, she started running down the path back towards town. Drew sweat-dropped and followed May, followed by Dawn, our Pokémon, and I.

After a bit of a run, we reached to Pokémon Center, where lunch awaited us. We walked in and sat down at a table, Dawn and I on one side, May and Drew on the other, while my Pokémon made themselves comfortable on the ground.

"So I hear there's a contest going on tomorrow," Drew said.

"Yep," Dawn said, "And I plan on winning it!"

"Hmph, good luck, you'll have to get through me first!" Drew stated.

"WHAT?" Both May and Dawn said together, standing up and knocking over their chairs.

"How come?" May asked.

"Why not? It just another ribbon to add to my collection," Drew said plainly.

"Oh man, this is going to be awesome!" I said, "May, Dawn, AND Drew in one contest! We're going to see some great battles!"

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed happily.

"Ri!"

"Gengar!"

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

Ugh, there's nothing worse than having Butterfrees in your stomach, it's so unsettling, and the last thing I needed before a contest like this. Normally, I wouldn't be worried at all, I am above average when it comes to coordinating, Ash would back me up on that. But today... Today was different. I was going up against not one, but TWO rivals. Both who are powerful and have been able to beat me before.

Normally I was strong willed and confident, but now I have been brought down to a nothing but a nervous wreck pacing back and forth in the dressing room. So what did I normally do if I was nervous like this?

I'd go to Ash.

I found the Pokémon Trainer standing in the hallway with his Pokémon talking with another trainer. He and the stranger laughed before the other trainer walked away. I walked over to Ash, and put a confident smile on my face.

"Hey May, ready for the contest, you got some tough battles today..." He said, my smile disappeared.

"Y-yeah... I know..." I mumbled. Ash tilted his head to the side.

"Are you okay?" He asked, I don't know way made me do it, but I threw myself at him, and wrapped my arms firmly around his torso.

"I-I don't know what to do! I'm so nervous!" I said, holding onto him even tighter, he seemed to have froze, but his muscles quickly loosened as he also wrapped his arms around me.

"May, don't worry about it. Even if you don't win, you'll always be a great coordinator in my book," He said. His body shook a little as Pikachu climbed up his leg, onto his shoulders, the yellow mouse put a warm smile on his face and gave me a peace sign. Gengar floated onto Ash's shoulder as well, with a big comforting grin on his face. I felt a tug on the dress I was wearing, I looked down and found Riolu looking up at me, giving me a thumbs up. I picked up the fighting type and smiled.

"Thanks you guys... You're the best."

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Ash's POV**

"The first coordinator for the Appeal Round is... May, from Petalburg City!" The MC shouted enthusiastically, the crowd roared with applause. May ran out a let out her Bayleaf.

"Bayleaf! Razor Leaf!" May shouted. Bayleaf shot the razor sharp leaves that came from seemingly nowhere.

"Now use vine whip on them gently!" May commanded. Bayleaf's whips gently snapped at the spinning leaves, causing them ricocheted in random directions, before bursting apart and sparkling everywhere.

"Outstanding! Bayleaf gave a display of beauty and grace, without moving from her place on the stage!" the MC announced.

"Amazing, a great come back for May," Mr. Contesta said.

"Remarkable."

"It's great to see she's taking good care of her Pokémon, I thank her for an excellent show," Nurse Joy said.

Other Coordinators went up as well, showing off the beauty of their Pokémon. Drew went up with his Flygon, making shapes with dragon breath. The whole time I didn't even notice the person sitting next to me, until he spoke up.

"The green haired kid doesn't seem like all they cracked him up to be," I heard, I turned to my right and found Paul leaning back, hands behind his head.

"Paul? What are you doing here?" I asked. The purple hair trainer looked over at me.

"Thought that I could maybe learn a thing or two while I watched, but so far I've been pretty disappointed," he said, I gave him a questioning look.

"Is that all?" I asked, there was a long pause...

"Yes," he said finally, although I didn't quite believe him, I dropped the subject.

"So Drew didn't impress you?" I asked.

"No, his performance was something a five year old could do, it lacked creativity and most importantly... Power," he said.

"Contests aren't all about power," I told him, Paul shrugged.

"You can't win anything without power," he said, "From the looks of him, he relies almost completely on strategy to take out his opponents slowly, if you hit him with a few powerful attacks, he's out..."

I looked back at the stage Dawn was out on the stage with Piplup.

"Okay Piplup, Whirlpool!" Dawn said, a huge water tornado erupted from Piplup's tiny beak.

"Now Bubble Beam!" Dawn shouted. Piplup's whirlpool continued on as the blue Pokémon shot bubbled into it, the bubbles spun around wildly.

"Now Peck!" Piplup's beak grew as he jabbed into the whirl pool, causing an explosion. Bubbles flew everywhere is every direction, before erupting like fireworks.

"So what did you think of that?" I asked, turning to Paul. His mouth was slightly open and his eyes wide. Pikachu waved his hand in front of Paul's face, causing him to snap out of his trance.

"Hu? What?" He asked, blinking a few times.

"So what did you think of Dawn's?" I asked him.

"I-it was o-okay," He said, I knew he was impressed, but he had too much pride to admit it.

"The Coordinators that will continue to the next round will appear on the screen," The MC said. I held my breath as the different faces appeared. Drew's face lit up, May's... And Dawn's appeared shortly after, Paul let of a sigh.

"What?" I asked, looking at him.

"What?" He asked back, confused.

"The sigh, what was that about?" I asked.

"What? Do I not have the right to breathe?" he asked.

"No, it's just that-"

"And here are the pairs!" The Announcer said, "Our first battle will be Dawn vs Drew!"

"Here we go," I said. Dawn and Drew got on stage, determined looks on their face.

"AND... BEGIN!" The bell sounded.

"Mamoswine! Spotlight!" Dawn threw her Pokéball into the air, releasing the large ice type.

"Flygon! Let's go!" Drew said.

"Now why would he do that?" Paul asked, "Mamoswine clearly has a huge advantage over Flygon!"

"Let's use Ice Shard!" Dawn said. Mamoswine shot out shards of ice at the ground/dragon type.

"Dodge it and use steel wing!" Drew shouted. Flygon completely evaded the attack and charged at Mamoswine, it's wings glowing like metal.

"Try to dodge!" Dawn told him. Manoswine rolled out of the way.

"Take a u-turn and hit try to hit again!" Drew said. Flygon took a sharp turn and slammed into Mamoswine. Dawn's points took a dive.

"Sandstorm!" Drew shouted. A huge sandstorm began to brew, it looked like Dawn shouted something, but I couldn't tell what.

"What did she say?" Paul asked, I could only shrug. The sandstorm dyed down, and the field was empty!

"Where did Mamoswine go?" I asked myself. Then it became clear, a huge hole laid in the ground.

"It used Dig to avoid the attack," Paul concluded. Flygon flew to the entrance of the hole, and stuck its head inside, just to be hit by an Ice Shard attack.

"Take Down Mamoswine!" Dawn shouted. Mamoswine shot out of the hole, and into the already dazed Flygon. By now, the points Dawn had lost from missing and taking hits were now even with Drew's.

"Flame Thrower!" Drew shouted.

"Uh ho..." Paul said. Flames erupted from Flygon's mouth, surrounding Mamoswine, who eyes were clenched shut.

"Take Down!" Dawn shouted again. Mamoswine's eye snapped open as he charged right through the flames, right into Flygon. Drew's Pokémon flew backwards, and hit the ground hard.

"This isn't over yet! Flygon! Steel wing!" The dragon flew at Mamoswine, "Now flame Thrower!" the Flygon lit up its body up as fire enveloped it. It looked like a comet as it slammed into Mamoswine with incredible force. The ice type flew backwards and into a wall, knocking it out.

"Mamoswine is unable to battle, Drew wins!" The crowd roared with applause. Dawn sadly returned Mamoswine, and disappeared after walking through the door.

"Man... That's too bad," I said, looking at Paul, who didn't say anything, he just stood up and left.

"Where are you going?" I asked him.

"Somewhere that's not here," he said, I sighed, typical Paul. Dawn walked over to where I was sitting with my Pokémon.

"Is this seat taken?" She asked, pointing to were Paul was sitting.

I shook my head, "Not anymore," Dawn sighed and sat down.

"Don't feel bad about losing," I told her.

"Yeah, I know, I'm used to it..." She said glumly.

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, "Hey, you'll always be a winner in my book."

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Ash's POV**

After Drew and Dawn's battle, May easily bested the other coordinator in that round, and it was one to the finals: May vs Drew.

"This is going to be intense," I said, Dawn nodded in agreement.

"Let the match begin!"

Drew flicked his green hair as he pulled out his Pokéball, "Roserade, come out!" he shouted tossing it into the air.

"He probably got a strategy up his sleeve," I said, "He thinks May will pick Blaziken due to the type advantage."

But May didn't even reach for a Pokéball, "Okay then..." She said, "I choose Gengar!"

"Gen?" Gengar's ears perked up upon hearing his name.

At first I wasn't sure what to do, was Gengar ready? He did fine in the last Conest he participated in. "Go on Gengar, May needs you," I told him. He leapt into the air flipping twice, and slammed into the ground with a Thunder Punch. Drew seemed to be surprised.

"So you got a Gengar, hu?" he asked.

"No," May replies, "I'm borrowing Ash's." Drew twitched.

"Be careful Roserade..." Drew said, "Gengars are powerful opponents."

"That's right!" May said, "Gengar, Shadow Ball!" The dark ball formed in front of Gengar, then launched forward at Roserade.

"Dodge!" Drew shouted, Roserade sprang into the air, jumping above the Shadow Ball.

"Double Team," May said, Gengar's flew all over the stage.

"Razor leaf on all of them!" Drew said. Leaves flew all over the stage, the fake Gengar's disappeared.

"She's going to use your strategy!" Dawn said, I nodded.

"Sleep Powder!" The green hair coordinator shouted.

"Shadow Ball!" May commanded. Shiny orange dust floated around the Gengar, it fell over and disappeared.

"Uh oh," Drew said, a Shadow Ball from the real Gengar flew down from above Roserade, slamming into him, Drew's points took a dive.

"Roserade, Sleep Powder into the sky!" Drew said, the powder rose above the Grass/Poison types head. Gengar appeared and fell to the ground with a thump, fast asleep.

"Gengar! Wake up!" May shouted, Gengar didn't budge.

"Roserade, use Solar Beam," Drew said calmly. Roserade charged up a Solar Beam, all the while May begging Gengar to wake up.

"Now!" Drew shouted, pointing to Gengar. The entire stadium lit up as the blast shot at Gengar. The beam disappeared, the dust settled, to reveal Gengar laying in a crater, badly bruised, still asleep.

"But how is it not knocked out?" Drew asked, amazed.

"It's a trainer's Pokémon, so it'll have higher defense than a coordinator's," May said, raising a finger, Drew snickered.

"Doesn't, matter, he's still asleep and completely helpless," Drew said, May's turned a little pale, "Razor Leaf," Drew said, snapping his fingers. Roserade held his's arms out as yet more leaves shot at Gengar.

"Gengar! Please wake up!" May shouted desperately.

"Come on Gengar, get up!" I shouted. The grass attack stopped, there was a dramatic pause. Suddenly, one of Gengar's eye's opened.

"WHAT?" Drew shouted.

"Amazing!" the MC shouted, "Despite the harsh attacks, Gengar's still up! What will it take to knock this Ghost and Poison Pokémon out?"

"Great!" May shouted, "Gengar! Shadow Ball!"

"Side step," Drew said, sounding a little frustrated. Roserade stepped out of the way of the attack just in time to avoid the dark ball.

"Just keep shooting Shadow Balls" May said.

"Evasive maneuvers!" Drew shouted. A wall of Shadow Balls flew at Roserade, who jumped, rolled, and ducked to avoid the attack. Gengar was breathing heavily now.

Dawn took a glance at the score board, "May has some catching up to do..." she said.

"She won't give up," I told her, "But that's a fast Roserade, if she uses Shadow Punch, it's a sure hit, but does she know that?"

"Shadow Punch!" May shouted.

"Yep, she knew that, or it was just a random choice," Dawn said. The dark fist flew through the air at Roserade, who side stepped it, the fist made a u-turn and headed at Roserade, hitting it hard, and knocking it over.

"Now it's time to regain some energy!" May said, "Gengar, use Hypnosis!" the Shadow Pokémon eye's glowed as he put the Roserade who was struggling to get up to sleep.

"Dream Eater!" May said. Gengar flew at Roserade and "ate" his dream, not only giving damage but restoring some of his own.

"Roserade! Wake up!" Drew said. The Roserade shook his head and slowly got up, his legs wobbling, as well as Gengars.

"The next attack to hit will end the match," I said, "both of them are too tired to keep going, it's a do or die now."

"Magical Leaf!"

"Shadow Punch!"

The two attaks flew at each other, the Shadow Punch past right through the magic leaves. The attacks hit their marks at the exact same time, and dust flew everywhere. After a minute, the dust settled and both Pokémon were barley standing.

"Whoa..." Dawn marveled.

"Piiiikaaa..." Pikachu added.

Both the Pokémon stared at each other, wobbling and shaking back in forth.

"Come on come on come one come on! You can do this Gengar..." I said quietly. The stadium was silent, everyone held their breath. The score was tied, whoever fell first would determine the winner.

Gengar fell forward.

The Shadow Pokémon fell to one knee, eyes tightly shut and right hand on the ground, struggling to stay conscious.

*Thud*

"Roserade is out!" The MC announced, "He barley made it, but Gengar took out Roserade!" the crowd roared with applause.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed happily.

"Ri!" Riolu's face lit up as he caught on to what was going on.

"She beat him," Dawn said.

"Yep," I said, "she beat Drew."

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

I didn't realize that I had been holding my breath until I saw Gengar fall forward, letting out a gasp, covering my mouth with my hands. He fell to his knee, was that considered knocked out? It must not have, because nobody said anything. Suddenly, Drew's Roserade fell forward, flat on his face. The crowd roared with applause as the MC announced I had won.

"I beat Drew!" I said to myself. I ran over to Gengar, and pulled him into a hug just as he was about to fall over.

"Thank you Gengar, you were amazing!" I told him.

"Gen!" he said happily, but wearily. Drew walked over to were we where and returned Roserade.

He turned to me with a grin on his face, "I knew Gengars were strong," He said. I stood up and faced him, sticking my hand out for a handshake.

"You fought a good fight," I told him, suddenly, the MC walked in-between us, a ribbon in her hand.

"Great job May, I'm honored to present you with this ribbon!" She said, handing the ribbon to me. She spun on her heels and walked away, leaving Drew and I alone on stage, Gengar had floated back to Ash.

"May, can we talk in private somewhere, I need to ask you something," Drew said.

_Oh no,_ I thought, "Uh, maybe I should go find my friends," I said, starting to walk away. He grabbed my wrist and looked into my eyes.

"Please?" He asked, I sighed, I had to deal with this sooner or later.

"Okay, sure," I said in defeat, we ran out of the Contest Hall by ourselves, leaving Ash and Dawn behind.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**Dawn's POV**

I watched as I sat next to Ash as May was presented the ribbon, and then she ran off with Drew.

"Well that was weird," Ash said, "May just ran off with Drew."

"Maybe their catching up some more," I said. I wondered if my plan had worked, I knew there was something stronger than just a rivalry between May and Drew. If she goes off with him, I'd get Ash to myself.

"I smell something Quilfishy," Ash said snapping me out of my thoughts. "Let's go find them," he said standing up and running off.

"Ash! Wait!" I shouted, following after him.

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

Drew and I where walking through the woods, wandering deeper and deeper into it, no turning back now, might as well get this over with.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I asked. Drew didn't answer immediately; he simply stared at the ground as he walked.

"Have you ever been in love?" He finally asked. Dang it, I knew the conversation would go in that direction.

"Um... Yes," I said, I wasn't going to lie, but I wasn't looking forward to how this would turn out.

"Well," Drew said, "let's say you weren't together with the person you liked, what would you like him to do to admit he liked you?" Great so he was asking for my advice, and he would probably try what I told him on me later on.

I sighed, "Well, I'd want him to take me somewhere quiet, like the beach, to gaze at the stars..." I told him.

He nodded, "Yeah, I like it, easy, simple, not over doing it..."

"Who's the girl?" I asked, I just wanted to get this over with, rather than reject him later.

"Well... She loves Pokémon."

Mmhmm

"She's caring and never gives up."

How sweet.

"She loves to travel."

You look for that in a girl?

"She's got brown hair and ocean blue eyes."

Oh man... Here it comes.

"Her name is Lyra, you've probably never met her."

I stopped dead in my tracks, Drew turned to face me, a confused look on his face.

"What?" He asked.

"N-nothing, just surprised me," I told him. A smirk crawled across his face.

"You though I liked you?" he asked crossing his arms.

"Y-yeah..." I told him.

His smirk grew bigger, "I've moved on, besides, I know you like Ketchum."

"How did you know?" I asked.

"It's pretty obvious," He said, I sighed.

"I've been hearing that a lot," I told him, Drew's smirk turning into a normal smile.

"Don't worry about, Ash's denser than a rock," he assured me.

I rolled my eyes and sighed, "Yeah, I know."

*Snap*

"Hey, did you hear that?" Drew asked, looking around.

"Yeah, it was probably just a Pokémon," I told him.

"Grrrrrrrr," We heard, I took a step back.

"An angry Pokémon..." I said, stepping closer to Drew. The bushes next to us suddenly caught on fire, the Legendary Beast of fire leapt out from behind them.

"Entei..." Drew said, "Stand back May, I'm gonna catch this thing," he pulled out Pokéball.

"Drew wait! It's wild!" I shouted. Drew advanced toward the legendary, causing it to growled angrily. Suddenly, it lunged toward Drew smacking him in the head. Drew flew to the side and smacked into a tree, falling over unconscious.

"Drew!" I shouted running over to him, and kneeling down beside him. Entei growled and advanced towards us.

"S-s-st-stay-stay back!" I stuttered in horror. I froze in fear; I couldn't even reach for a Pokéball.

"Draco Meteor!" I heard someone shout. An orange ball shot into the sky and blew up. And the meteors fell to the ground, causing the earth to shake. Entei turned and ran away. Soon, I could see Ash and Dawn, Along with Pikachu, Riolu, Gengar, and Gible, running down the path towards Drew and I.

"What happened?" Ash said, kneeling down on the other side of Drew.

"Entei tried t-to attack us and- and..." I tried saying, but I gave up and leaned over on Ash as I whimpered, he wrapped his arms around me tightly.

"It's okay now May..." he said, "It's okay..."

**~(o'-'o)~******

**May's POV**

Drew ended up being okay, thank goodness, and ended up with nothing but a headache. He left the next day, probably back to see Lyra. Dawn appeared to be confused as to why we weren't together, I could only chuckle to myself, in your face Dawn!

Now we all sat in the Pokémon Center wondering were to go next.

"Maybe we should call Scott," Ash suggested.

"Ugh, if I have to talk to that fat stupid receptionist again, count me out!" Dawn said.

"Well, I don't think we have any other choice," I said, "We should probably call Scott."

"No need to," we heard the head of the Battle Frontier say as he walked into the lobby.

"Scott, how do you get around so easily?" Ash asked.

"I'll have to show you sometime," he said, "but I'm guessing that you probably want to know where the next Battle Facility is, don't you?"

"You bet!" Ash said excitedly jumping from his seat.

"Well," Scott said, "The next facility is called the Battle Arcade, you can find it on the other side of the Lake of Rage, the lake north of town."

"We were there the other day and we didn't see it?" Dawn said, Scott let out a chuckle.

"I didn't say it was completely exposed," he said, and with that, he said goodbye and left.

"Well, we know were we are going next!" Ash said before running out the Pokémon Center. I soon found myself walking down the path behind Ash, who was coming up with strategies with his Pokémon, I glanced over at Dawn who was to the left of me. I got closer to her before wrapping my left arm around her shoulder, making her jump a little.

"May, you startled me!" She said, sounding slightly nervous.

"I think it's time to have a little talk," I told her, she gulped. "Now, I know that sending Drew over here and acting nice was all just a little plan you came up with." I said through my teeth.

"What? I don't know what you talking about!" Dawn tried to say, completely avoiding eye contact.

"You're not a very good lier," I told her, "I'd just like to inform you that your plan didn't work." I said in a matter-a-fact tone.

"I just was trying to handle this rival thing in a nicer way," Dawn said, I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah right, I don't think it's possible for you to be nice," I said.

"Well if it's such a problem, why don't you leave?"

"Because I can't let Ash live the rest of his life with someone as horrible as you!"

"At least that's better than what you'd ever be!" We had completely stopped walking now and were having a stare down.

"Better than what I'd be?" I asked, "I bet Ash wouldn't be able to stand be alone with you for even 24 hours!"

"Well why don't we put that to the test?" Dawn smirked, she spun on her heels and began walking again.

"Oh no you don't!" I shouted and ran past her, as I sped down the path.

"Hey!" She shouted and began running after me. I craned my head behind to see how close she was, and saw her eyes grow wide. I turned back just in time to see Ash in front if me before crashing into him. Riolu and Pikachu fell off his shoulders and he turned to face me.

"What-?" He began, but I felt Dawn crash into me causing both of us to topple over on top of Ash.

"Ouch..." He let out. Pikachu sweat-dropped, but Gengar and Riolu found the sight quite funny, laughing at us.

"Hehe, oops." Dawn said as she got up off me allowing me to get up off of Ash also. He dusted himself off and let out a cough. Riolu and Pikachu quickly got back on Ash's shoulders.

"Sorry Ash," I said, but he started laughing, and soon I couldn't help but laugh as well, joined by Dawn.

"That would have made a great picture," Ash said, wiping a tear from his eye as he continued to chuckle, I smiled as I thought about how silly we must have looked, no wonder Gengar and Riolu had been laughing.

"Now let's go, I got a Frontier Battle to win!" he said, raising his fist in the air, he turned around and began sprinting down the path. 

**~(o'-'o)~**

**Yeeeeeaaaaaah, so I lied, I chose the person you guys guessed the most, I actually started writing this chapter with Misty, and about 500 words into I was like "What am I doing?" don't worry, it was good for the story, but I want to have Misty in the story, so if you got any good ideas of how I can stick her in that would be cool.******

**Like always, thank you all the people who have read and especially those who reviewed, keep those coming because I need it to fuel my body and and keep me alive. I appreciate you all and don't let anyone say that I don't.******

**Peace off, Gengar out.******

**Dododododododoo Re-view. (Toby Turner xD )**


	15. Chapter 15: All Washed Up

**Chapter 15: All Washed Up**

* * *

><p><strong>So… it's been a while. I'm really sorry, but this may become a norm. now that schools back and everything, I have a lot less time to do this, so hopefully you all understand. <strong>

**So anyways, I asked you, the readers, to send me ideas to use Misty, and actually, some of you replied. Funny part is was that two of them correlated really well so I used them both, thanks for the ideas**

**You know something stupid? Well, I've been writing this story for months, and I had come up with about three different ends that I liked, and now I realized that all those endings were kinda crappy. So I've scrapped them all and am now trying to think of a new one.**

**Don't own Pokémon, too busy as it is to actually want to own it at this point.**

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

"My feet hurt."

"Pika Pika..."

"I'm hot and sweaty."

"Riiriii."

"Are we there yet?"

"Gengar..."

Hello, my name is Ash Ketchum, Pokémon Trainer who has a dream of becoming a Pokémon Master, with the help of my loyal friends I can-

Oh wait, what loyal friends? I just travel with a bunch of whiners.

"We've been walking around all afternoon..."

We've spent a big chunk of the day searching for the Battle Arcade, where I plan to get my next Frontier Print.

"Pika Pikachu pi pika..."

Even my own Pokémon are complaining.

"I'm pretty sure we've past this tree before..."

"Ash, you better not have gotten us lost,"

They don't even trust my sense of direction.

"It's gonna be dark soon, we should head back to the Pokémon Center."

They can go, but I am not going back with my Frontier Print.

"I'm starving, we haven't eaten for hours..."

Complain, complain, complain, that all I hear, makes me wonder why I travel with these guys.

"I can't go another step further..."

"I. HAVE. HAD IT!" I shouted, I threw my hat on the ground in full fury. "I have to put all my battles on hold, so that you two can participate in you precious little 'contest'," I stomped on my hat.

"I help you train!" I stomped on my hat again.

"I taught you almost everything you know about battling!" and again.

"AND I've cheered you on to reach your dreams when you feel like giving up the most!" I rubbed my hat in the dirt.

"AND YOU!" I shouted, pointing at my Pokémon, "I feed you your food, help you grow stronger, and am basically you vehicle for transportation!" I hopped on my hat several times until it was embedded into the ground.

"And all I hear from any of you are complaints!" I shouted, breathing heavily.

"I think Ash has lost it," Dawn said, scratching her head with her finger.

"That was a great speech Ash," May said, "But it doesn't change the fact that I'm tired and hungry." I walked over to a tree and started repeatedly slamming my head against it, if I hadn't lost it before, I definitely had by then. It couldn't get worse than this.

*bzzzz*

Me and my big fat mouth.

A swarm of Beedrill popped out of the tree I happened to be slamming my head against.

"AAAAHHHHHHHH!" we all screamed as we ran as fast as we could away from the Beedrill.

"Pilachu! Thunderbolt!" I shouted, Pikachu leapt into the air and began to spark.

"Piiiiika-CHUUUU!" Electricity flew through the air directed at the Beedrill, who scattered and retreated.

"Wow, and I thought I was tired before..." Dawn remarked, I sweat-dropped.

"You know what, fine, you guys go ahead, I'm gonna go get my hat," I said, Dawn and May exchanged glances before shrugging and heading back to the Pokémon Center with Pikachu, Gengar, and Riolu in tow.

I retraced my steps to where I left my hat, where I found it still in the ground. I sighed and walked over the Lake of Rage so I could wash it off. I dunked in into the water and stuck it back on my head.

"I don't get it..." I said to myself, "We looked every where. Where on earth is the Battle Facility." I threw a stone into the lake, it skipped on the water a few times. I let out Gible and Totodile, the only two Pokémon I currently had with me.

"What do you guys think? Where is the next Facility?" I asked them. Gible wasn't really listening he had occupied himself with a berry bush he found. Totodile sniffed the air and leapt into the lake.

"Totodile, this isn't the time for swimming!" I shouted as I pulled out his Pokéball, but he dove under the water. I sighed and dove into the water to get him, but was surprised with what I found: The Battle Arcade... Underwater.

You have got to be kidding me... I thought.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"So did you find the battle facility?" Nurse Joy asked. I gave her a tired smile and shook my head.

"Ash has been gone for a while now..." Dawn said, I glanced at the Pokémon Center front doors, still no Ash.

"Maybe we shouldn't have left him back there..." I said.

"Well if you hadn't been complaining so much, this wouldn't have happened!" Dawn said.

"You were complaining has much as I was!" I shot back.

"Yeah well-"

"ENOUGH!"

We both turned and looked wide eyed at Nurse Joy, who took a deep breathe "I will not tolerate fighting here." she said. I was about to say something but Ash ran through the doors.

"You guys are not going to believe where the Battle Arcade is!" he said excitedly.

"Where?" Dawn asked.

*Thump*

We all turned to face Nurse Joy again, who had placed scuba gear on the front counter.

I began to speak "I certainly hope it's not-"

"In the Lake of Rage!" Ash said, he bent over and stroked the blue alligator standing by him on the head, "Totodile found it."

Dawn turned to Nurse Joy, "I hope we don't need to scuba dive to get down there," she said in a worried tone.

Nurse Joy let out a laugh, "No, I just like pulling this out to get reactions out of people, let me how you how to get there." she stepped out from behind the desk and walked out the door.

"So, how do you know where to take us?" Ash asked as we walked down the road.

"Mr. Scott told me to lead trainers who found it there." she said, giving us a wink. We approached a telephone booth. Nurse Joy stepped in and dialed a number. The screen lit up and a woman with a yellow jacket answered.

"I have a challenger and some of his friends." Nurse Joy said.

"bring them in," the woman on the screen said. Nurse Joy nodded and stepped out of the phone booth.

"Please step inside," she said, motioning to Ash. We all exchanged glances as Ash stepped inside the phone booth.

"So now whAAAAAAAAAAAA!" he shouted as the ground underneath him dropped, he and his Pokémon all fell down the hole. The trap door closed, not leaving a trace of Ash.

"What happened to him!" I exclaimed, turning to Nurse Joy.

"Well this is the driest way to the Battle Arcade," Nurse Joy said.

"This is like a bad spy movie..." Dawn said.

"So who's next?" she asked.

"She is!" Dawn and I said together, pointing at one another.

"Eani, meani, miney, moe," Nurse Joy said, ending with me.

I sighed, "fine..." I walking into the telephone booth and clamped my eyes shut. The ground beneath me disappeared and I started to fall. I hit the side and began to slide down, it got less and less steep and finally ended. I flew trough the air and landed with an *OW!*

Wait... An "Ow"?

"Oh, hey Ash..." I said as I looked at the young trainer I was laying on top of, "Sorry... But thanks for cushioning my fall..." he just let out a groan. I was about to get up when suddenly something fell on top of me.

"OW!" Ash and I shouted.

"Oh, oops..." I heard Dawn say from on top of me.

"This is the second time today I've been dog piled on..." Ash mumbled. Riolu and Gengar were laughing their head off.

"Laugh now while you can, I'll get you both later," Ash said. Dawn got off of me and I got off of Ash, who stood and brushed himself off.

I looked around, the pipe we cane out of led us to a large room with walls made of concrete, except for one side that led to a glass tunnel. I could see other water type Pokémon swimming in the water on the other side.

"Now what do we do?" Dawn asked. Ash gestured to the tunnel.

"We should probably head that way," he said, we strolled down the lit tunnel toward what was supposed to be the Battle Arcade.

"And would you believe that they tried to suck up all the Pokémon in the Gym! The nerves!" we heard in the distance.

Ash stopped, "Did you hear that?" he asked, Dawn and I nodded. His face lit up and a grin spread across his face.

"I'd know that voice anywhere!" He exclaimed, and with that, he dashed down the path. We all ran as fast as we could to keep up with Ash, and when we reached the end, we were surprised to see-

"MISTY?" Ash exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"

Misty smiled, "what? Not happy to see me?" she asked playfully, she was standing at the door leading into the battle arcade with Scott and a woman with black hair and blue eyes. The woman wore a yellow ling sleeve shirt that reached just above her belly button, she wore skinny jeans and yellow high heel sandals, in her hair were yellow bands.

"No... I'm just... Surprised..." Ash told Misty, "But what brought you here?"

"Oh, me and Dahlia..." Misty gestured to the woman who appeared on the TV phone before, "... Go way back."

"Yeah, I remember when little Misty was just a baby!" Dahlia said.

"Ash, I'd like you to meet Dahlia, the Frontier Brain of the Battle Arcade," Scott spoke up, Ash stuck out his hand to the woman.

"Hi, nice to meet you, I'm Ash and this is Pikachu," Ash said.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said cheerfully as Ash shook hands with Dahlia.

"I'm May," I said.

"And I'm Dawn," Dawn finished. Dahlia smiled and nodded to us both.

"Scott and Misty have told me a lot about you Mr. Ketchum," Dahlia said. Ash scratched his head sheepishly.

"Heh, you can just call me Ash..." he told her.

"Ri?"

"Gengar..."

"Oh yeah," Ash said, "This is my Riolu and Gengar, chances are, you'll probably be battling against at least one of them."

"Well I'm looking forward to that battle," Dahlia said, she turned around and began walking into the building, we all followed behind.

"I'm looking forward to seeing you battle again Ash," Misty said.

"Yeah, this one will be awesome!" Ash said happily, "Isn't that right Pikachu?"

"Pi Pikachu!" his Pokémon agreed.

I hope Misty doesn't have a thing for Ash too... I thought, Dawn is already almost too much to handle...

***Rrrrrrmmmmm***

"What was that?" I asked aloud.

"What was what?" Ash asked.

"You didn't hear that? It was like a moaning sound" I replied, he shook his head.

"The Arcade does makes weird noises because we're underwater," Dahlia said.

"By the way," Dawn began, "Why have the Battle Facility underwater?"

Scott shrugged, "It's something different, and it's kind if fun."

"Here we are..." Dahlia said, we entered a huge battle field.

"These fields are always so much bigger than I expect," Dawn said. Me, Misty, Dawn, and Scott all sat down in the bleachers, while Ash, Pikachu, Gengar, and Riolu stood at one end of the field. Dahlia stood on the opposite side.

"Alright Ash, let me explain to you what's different about this facility." Dahlia began.  
><strong><br>*****Rrrrrmmmm***

the building moaned loudly, interrupting Dahila.

...

"Anyways, like I was saying-"

***BOOM!***

The room shook.

"What was that?" Misty asked.

***BOOM!***

"Something's going on outside!" Dawn shouted.

***BOOM!***

"We go to get out of here!" Dahlia said. Everyone got out of their seats and ran for the exit.

"What's going on?" I asked as everyone sped to the door, I was surprised that a man as large as Scott was able to keep up the pace. We ran out the doors and into the glass tunnel that led out.

***RRRRMMMMMMMM!***

"That didn't sound good!" Dahlia shouted.

We heard the sound of shattering glass. I turned around saw water rush into the tunnel.

"The tunnel is about to flood!" Misty shouted.

"Quick! This way!" Dahlia shouted, we ran down the tunnel, and huge wave of rushing water not far behind us.

"AH!" I shouted as I tripped and fell over, I'm such a klutz. I struggled to get up on the now slippery floor when someone grabbed and pulled me to my feet. I looked up and saw-

"DAWN?" I was surprised, that was the last person I expected.

"We may be rivals, but I can't leave you here to die," She said as we ran again. We could see the end of the tunnel, but it was a dead end.

"This will be close!" Dahlia said, I could feel water sprinkling my back, the roar of the wave was deafening. Dahlia stopped running and we ran past her, we all were no longer in the glass tunnel but in the concrete room.

Dahlia slammed her fist into a red button on the wall and huge metal doors slid out of the walls, several gallons of water got through just before the doors closed.

Misty leaned against the wall and slid to the floor, "That was close..." she said as she gasped for air. Everyone else was also breathing heavily from the run, except for Gengar, who probably easily floated through the air.

I turned to Dawn, who appeared to be experiencing a painful cramp. I walked up to her and sheepishly rubbed my right arm with my left hand.

"I never thought I'd say this but... Thanks for risking your neck back there..." I told her, she smiled at me.

"No problem..." She said.

"Alright," Dahlia said, "Let's get out of here." She walked over to a sliding double door, "Just step in here, one at a time please, and let's make this quick."

"After you Dawn," I said, Dawn smirked at me.

"Thank you," she said. Dawn walked over to the door and stepped in, the door closed and she disappeared. Misty went next, then Scott, and then me. I walked out and found myself in the middle of a forest, it appeared I had walked out of a tree.

"Whoa..." I said quietly.

"May! Over here, quick!" Misty shouted to me, I turned left and ran toward were I heard her voice. I ran out into the opening and saw The Lake of Rage and-

"No way..." I said.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

"Well Ash, go right ahead," Dahlia said. I smiled and nodded, and with my Pokémon, I walked into a small elevator. The doors shut tightly and I felt the elevator rise.

"Ri?" Riolu asked, clinging to my leg, he must not have felt safe in a small moving room.

The door opened and I found myself in the middle of the forest, the elevator I had just exited was in a tree.

"Didn't expect that..." I said.

***BOOOOOM!***

The forest lit up and dirt flew everywhere, the force was so strong that it knocked me to and my Pokémon over.

"PIIIIIKAAAAA!"

"RIIIIIIII!"

"GENGAAAAR!"

We scrambles to our feet, and like an idiot, ran towards were the explosion came from.

"MISTY! MAY! DAWN! SCOTT!" I shouted.

***BOOOOOM!*****  
><strong>  
>I grabbed a tree to keep from getting knocked over.<p>

"A-A-Ash..."

I turned towards the sound, to see Dawn laying in the ground, bleeding everywhere and her eyes open wide.

"DAWN!" I shouted.

"Pikaka!" Pikachu exclaimed, we ran to her and I knelt down beside her.

"e-ex-explosion..." She mumbled.

"What?" I asked frantically, but she couldn't seem to respond. I picked her up and carried her backpack style. "Let's go!" I Told my Pokémon.

***BOOOOOM!***

"You can't run forever!"

I turned to see the Lake of Rage, water Pokémon swam around angrily, and a helicopter with the infamous Team Rocket Symbol stamped on it. It fired rockets at that flew forward towards a blue Pokémon that moved with amazing speed.

"Suicune!" I shouted with surprise. The legendary beast of the water gracefully dodged the missile, but I could tell it was getting weary.

"Why doesn't it run away?" I asked myself, I took a look at the helicopter and saw a Crobat.

"They must have used Mean Look, Suicune can't flee!" I exclaimed. Pikachu's cheeks sparked up as he glared at the helicopter angrily.

***BOOOM!***

"Ash!" I looked to my left and saw Misty limping towards me, with Dawn still on my back, I walked over to her.

"Are you okay?" I asked, Misty nodded weakly.

"Y-yeah... There was an explosion that almost hit us and knocked us away..." She said, bending over and rubbing her leg. "But we have to help Suicune," she said determined.

"That Crobat is using Mean Look, so Suicune can't get away," I told her, "What's the plan?"

"You take out the Crobat, so Mean Look won't have an effect anymore," She pointed her thumb at herself, "I'll distract them..."

***BOOOOM!***

"Are you in a good enough shape to do that?" I asked her, she smirked and nodded, "Alright." I said.

I laid Dawn down at a tree, and leaned her against it.

"A-Ash..." Dawn said weakly.

"Yeah Dawn..." I replied.

***BOOOM!***

"G-get 'em for me..." She smiled weakly. I nodded and smiled back.

"Riolu, stay here and take care of Dawn," Riolu stood up straight and saluted. Where the heck did he pick that up?

"Let's do this..." I said seriously, I approached the edge of the lake, "Totodile, I choose you!" I said. Totodile looked up at me as I called him out.

There was a horrible deafening roar... I saw Misty calling out her Gyarados. The distraction was set, time for action.

"Totodile, use Water Gun on the ground to get to that Helicopter!" I shouted, pointing to the hovering aircraft.

"Tot!" It shot a powerful jet of water from its mouth and launched straight towards the helicopter.

***Bam!***

Totodile hit the side of helicopter and hung on for dear life.

"Get that pesky Pokémon off the helicopter!" One of the grunts said, the other grunt nodded and, along with Crobat, opened the big door and glared at Totodile, who was struggling to hold on, he clenched his eyes shut when suddenly I heard a voice in the distance.

"Wartortle, help Totodile out!" a shell spun around rapidly and skipped on the water like a skipping stone before launching at the helicopter.

"OOF!" The Grunt shouted as Wartortle slammed into him.

"Totodile!" I shouted to him, "Use Bite on Crobat!" Totodile launched himself at Crobat and bit down on the top of his head and stood on its back. The helpless Crobat flew around crazily, trying to shake Totodile off.

I heard a roar of pain. Misty's Gyarados fell, along with Misty's other Pokémon, now she stood bravely in front of the exhausted Suicune.

"You want Suicune?" She shouted, "You'll have to remove my dead body first!"

"That can be arranged," a grunt shouted.

"Hydro Pump!" I shouted, the blast shot from Totodile's mouth, the Crobat shot downward and into the water... Knocked out.

Suicune could tell the Mean Look had disappeared and it was able to run, so it shot from out behind Misty and ran.

"Not so fast!" A Grunt shouted, he shot a net missile at Suicune, who was too tired to dodge at that point, they caught it and reeled it in.

"NO!" Misty shouted as she limped towards the helicopter.

"See ya suckers!" the grunt said mocking before flying away.

"COOOOOWAAAAARRRRRDDS!" Misty screamed at the top of her lungs before falling to her knees. I walked over to her and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"We'll get Suicune back," I told her, "No need to worry." I was starting to sound like Dawn.

"Uh... I little help over here..." I heard.

"ChuchuPi!" Pikachu shouted, pointing to the right. May was dangling high up from a tree; it looked like some branches had caught her shirt. I ran over to the tree, looking up.

"Hang on May, we'll get you down," I looked down at Gengar, who nodded and floating up to May. But he didn't grab her or help her get loose, he started shaking the tree branch she was stuck to crazily.

"WhOaOaOA! S-S-STOP!" May said as she was thrown around. But Gengar got the job done, May was free of the branch, but like an apple breaking from a tree, gravity took effect and May fell.

"AAAHHHH!"

"Pika!" Pikachu and Riolu jumped off my shoulders

"Uh ho..." I said.

***SLAM!***

"Ow..." I groaned. May had fallen on top of me.

"Sorry Ash," May said as she got on top of me.

"I seem to have this tendency of being a landing pad or a cushion," I mumbled. Gengar floated down with a satisfied look on his face, proud of his "good deed". I smiled and stroked his head. Pikachu and Riolu hopped back onto my shoulders and we walked back to Misty, who was now joined by Scott and Dahlia. Dahlia was kneeling next to Dawn inspecting her.

"We should probably take her to a hospital to get her checked," Dahlia said. We nodded and headed back to town.

Luckily, despite the town being small, it had a small hospital. I sat in the waiting room with everyone waiting to here news about Dawn, who had fallen fast asleep on the way.

"So what happened to you, Scott?" I asked, hoping to start up a conversation. Dahlia started laughing and Scott chuckled a little bit.

"It was kinda embarrassing, I'd rather not talk about it," Scott said.

"Excuse me," A nurse said as she walked in, "Your blue haired friend will be just fine, you need to give her time to rest though."

"That's a relief," I said, Pikachu sighed in relief. I turned to Dahila who had been talking with Scott, "So I guess we shouldn't battle today." Dahlia glanced at her watch.

"Yeah, it's getting late," She and Scott stood up.

"I should probably get going," Scott said, "I'm looking forward to the battle tomorrow."

"Yeah, so am I!" I said.

"Pika!"

"Ri!"

"Gar!"

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

Scott and Dahila left the hospital for the night, leaving just me, Misty, Ash, and his Pokémon.

"You guys can go back to the Pokémon Center, I'm gonna stay with Dawn." Ash said.

Even though I wasn't extremely pissed off by Dawn anymore, I couldn't help but feel jealous._ I wonder if he'd do the same thing for me_, I thought.

"I'll stay too," I said.

Misty shrugged and yawned, "I'm heading back to the Pokémon Center, see you tomorrow." She walked out of the Pokémon Center and disappeared in the distance.

"Alright, let's head over to Dawn's room," Ash said. We went up an elevator and roamed the halls of the hospital for a fee minutes before finally finding the room Dawn had been given.

"There it is Ash, Room 393." I said, we walked into the small room Dawn was sleeping in. She laid in the only bed, there was a chair, coffee table, and small couch.

"I'm going to sleep," Ash said, plopping himself down in the chair.

I giggled, "You're such a gentleman," I told him, he looked confused.

"What? Why?" He asked, I sweat-dropped.

"You're letting me sleep on the couch, instead of the hard chair..." I told him. He blinked a few times, as if processing what I said.

"Oh..." he said... "sure..." I sat down on the couch and patted the cushion next to me.

"Come on, you'll never be able sleep on that," I said, the chair he was in looked quite uncomfortable.

"Wow, thanks May," He said, as if fascinated that I would do something like that. As Ash moved over to the couch, Pikachu, Riolu, and Gengar followed him.

"Sorry it may be a bit crowded," He said, Pikachu and Riolu had snuggled into his lap and Gengar had plopped himself in mine.

"G'night May..." Ash said, leaning on the arm rest to the right, I leaned on the one to left.

"Good night..."

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

I had this weird dream that I was at Prof. Oak's lab and Snorlax sat on me, squishing me flat... It was really strange. Then I woke up and found that everyone who was sleeping on the couch leaning against me, virtually burying me under their bodies.

I shifted a little, causing Pikachu to wake up, he blinked a couple times before looking up at me.

"Pika?" He moaned, looking around. Dawn was still asleep on the bed, May and Gengar were leaning against me, and Riolu slept on my lap. Light was shining through the window and the clock showed that it was 8 o'clock in the morning.

"Mmmmmm..." May moaned, snuggling into my left arm. It felt weird and awkward, but so right at the same time. May's movement woke up Gengar, who stretched and fell off the couch, landing comically on his head. I let out a laugh as Gengar climbed by up on the couch, sitting in the same spot he had just fallen from. I ruffled the odd purple fur on the ghost's head.

"Rii..." I looked down and saw Riolu rubbing the sleep from his eyes before happily looking up at me.

"Did you guys get a good night's sleep?" I asked them quietly, hoping not to wait Dawn or May.

"PIKA!"

"RI!"

"GENGAR!"

I winced as each if my Pokémon responded loudly. May stirred before her eyes fluttered open, she quickly sat up and her cheeks turned red. I couldn't understand why that happened at times, but I decided not to pursue it.

"Good morning, May," I said.

"M-morning..." she stuttered, flustered about something. Riolu and Pikachu got off my lap so I could stand up. I walked over to Dawn's bedside and watched her stir, her eyes too, fluttered open.

"Pikaka!" Pikachu squealed happy as he jumped onto the bed. A soft smile appeared on Dawn's face and she rubbed Pikachu's head.

"Good to see you're back Dawn," I told her.

"Thanks Ash," Dawn said, she appeared to be deep in thought. Suddenly, the nurse came in.

"I see that you're awake," the nurse said happily, "Tests say you'll be just fine, in fact, most of your strength has probably returned."

Suddenly, my stomach let out a rumble.

"By the way," The nurse said, "Several friends of yours are waiting downstairs."

The nurse left and we headed downstairs, where Misty, Dahlia, and Scott were waiting for us.

"Great to see you're looking better Dawn," Dehila said, Dawn smiled and nodded, and we headed over to a breakfast restaurant.

"So Ash," Dehila began, "Are you ready for your battle?" the question got my blood racing.

"YEAH!" I said excitedly, there was nothing I looked more forward too than a great battle.

"After breakfast though... I'm starving," May said.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

As much as I loved Ash's Pokémon, they were getting a little on my nerves. Why on earth did I ever let Gengar have that one stupid French fry from so long ago? Now he sat at the table with is face buried in hash browns, spreading the potatoes everywhere, including my plate.

"Gengar!" I shouted, he sat up, revealing his hash brown covered face. I grabbed a napkin and wiped his face off, with he didn't seem to enjoy.

"Now, let me show you how to use a fork," I told him, I stabbed some of the egg on my plate and put it in my mouth, and handed a fork to Gengar.

Big mistake.

Gengar raised the fork up in the air and forcefully slammed it into the plate. The plate and hash browns flew everywhere.

"Whoa! Gengar what that for?" Ash asked.

"Gen?" Gengar raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry it was my fault," I told him, cleaning up a glass and potatoes. I sighed but smiled at the Shadow Pokémon, rubbing his head playfully.

"What are we going to do with you?" I asked him, he gave me his usual friendly smile, not the devilish smile Gengars are known for.

Events from previous days ran through my head, The telephone booth, searching for the Battle Arcade, meeting Misty again, the exploding building, Entei attacking ud, Suicune being captured by Team Rocket...

Entei and Suicune...

"I wonder if Entei was acting so savagely because Team Rocket attacked him..." I though aloud. Gengar cocked his head, confused with what I was talking about.

_I wonder what Team Rocket is really up to..._

* * *

><p><strong>I was reading the reviews and thought is was funny how many of you commenting about the Toby Tuner reference, showed me you guys actually read the little Author's note I put at the beginning and end of the story, so thanks for that, you guys are all so freaking awesome!<strong>

**Continue to Review, give me ideas, or whatever you feel like doing.**

**BTW: Can any of you find the significance of Dawn's room number? First person to guess right doesn't get anything.**


	16. Chapter 16: Forces Collide

**Chapter 16: Forces Collide**

* * *

><p><strong>Heh, so it's been a while, longer than I meant for it to be. And I could give you a list of excuses, but eh, I'm just gonna ask for forgiveness. But don't worry; I haven't completely been doing nothing! I happen to be working on another fic that I will release when I feel like it, it's a bit different from this one.<strong>

**Anyways, I don't own Pokemon, and honestly, I don't actually have a shiny Gengar either.**

**BTW: I'm gonna respond to a few reviews at the end, so stick around for that!**

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"So Ash," Dahila said, "Unlike last time, because we didn't get this far, I would like to explain what's special about this frontier facility."

Everyone had gotten back into the Battle Factory through another fake tree similar to the one we had escaped from before. Now I, along with Dawn, Misty and Scott sat in the bleachers, eager to watch Ash's next exciting battle.

"For starters," Dahila began, she stepped over to a large screen, which had tons of red, grey, and black boxes and symbols. "This is what makes things interesting, at the beginning of the match, and every time a Pokémon faints, someone presses this button." Dahila gestured towards a large red button.

"The program scrolls throughout the list of options extremely quickly, and will stop on the square that the person presses the button on," Dahila then gestures towards the battle field, "Notice how the battle field is split in two colors, your side is red, and my side is black," everyone took note, so Dahila continued.

"So, if this stops on a square that is red, it will affect your Pokémon, if lands on black, it effects mine, grey means the entire field will be effected," Dahila said.

"What are the effects?" Ash asked.

"There are tons, it can paralyze, poison, burn, freeze, or confuse Pokémon, it can give the effect of Trick Room, it could weaken or strengthen Pokémon, and a few others." Dahila explained, "I will let you pick who gets the honor of pressing the big red button."

Ash turned towards the bleachers where we all sat, "Come on down here, Dawn."

Dawn gave a little squeal and I winced. _Ugh, he picked her over me the second time on this journey_. I thought. Dawn walked over to the field and stood next to the button.

"Now here's the second catch," Dahila said.

...

_Dramatic pause._

"This is a tag battle."

Everyone gasped, except for Scott, who probably knew what was going on.

"Choose your tag partner Ash," Dahila said, Ash turned back to the bleachers.

...

_Another dramatic pause..._

I hated this, I knew he would pick Misty, so what was I? The one who just tagged along, who came along for a free ride? I clenched my eyes shut; waiting for him to say-

"May..."

I opened an eye, "Hu?" Misty was leaning over shaking me.

"What? What is it?" I asked her.

"Ash is calling you..." She responded, I looked down on the battle field and sure enough, Ash and his Pokémon where trying to get my attention.

"ChuchuPi!"

"Come May, let's show them what we're made of!" Ash called. I gasped and my eyes grew wide.

_He picked me!_

"He picked you May!" Misty shouted trying to get my attention, "Get down there." I nodded, and walked down the stairs and stood next to Ash and his Pokémon.

"Ready for this May?" Ash said excitedly.

"Y-yeah..." I said, suddenly realizing what I was getting myself into.

I began to say "Wait, if you and I are teams, that means-"

"Misty!" Dahila shouted, "Let's take these two down!"

_Oh snaps!_

"Don't worry about this May," Ash said, "We can do this!"

Easy for him to say, I had never won any battle outside a contest, so the rules were completely different now. Hopefully all those times we blasted Team Rocket off was enough. Misty smirked and leapt from her seat, landing on the battle field.

"So can we take a little time to maybe form a strategy?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, but it doesn't really matter though, when Dawn presses that button the whole game changes.

"Okay then, scratch that, we'll come up with one as we go along." Ash said confidently. I shook away the worry and put on a confident grin.

"Alright, I'll call out a Pokémon first," Dahila said, "Then Ash, then Misty, then May..." she reached for her Pokéball.

"Go! Togikiss!" She threw the Pokéball into the air and the flying normal type popped out.

"Pikachu! I choose you!" Ash said, Pikachu leapt onto the field.

"Come in out Azumarill!" Misty said, throwing her Pokéball out.

"Bayleaf, take the stage!" I shouted, my newest Pokémon gracefully landed on the stage. The large screen began to scroll through the list of events, Dawn pressed down and it stopped on a black square with a bolt.

"The black side's Pokémon will be paralyzed," I said, Ash nodded and smiled.

"Don't think you've already won!" Dahila said.

"Of course not, Pikachu, Volt Tackle!" Ash said.

"Bayleaf, Razor leaf on Azumarill!" I said.

Pikachu charged across the stage and leafs shot across as well, Pikachu leapt into the air towards Togikiss.

"Dodge!" Dahila said, Togikiss zipped out of the way, but Pikachu still took the toll for the attack.

"Azumarill, send those back with Iron Tail!" Misty shouted. With a mighty swing of the tail, Azumarill hit every single razor leaf at Bayleaf. Dahila gave Misty a high-five.

"I wouldn't be celebrating too soon!" Ash shouted, "We aren't giving up yet."

Typical Ash.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Ash shouted.

"Bayleaf, vine whip!" I said. Vines shot out and snapped at Azumarill who had to dance to avoid them. Togikiss wasn't so lucky, she tried to dodge but paralyze prevented her, Pikachu landed a direct hit.

"Aura Sphere!" Dahila shouted.

"Ice Beam!" Misty exclaimed. The two attacks collided and formed a large icy Aura Sphere.

"Uh ho..." I said, the attack hit Bayleaf, sending him across the field, it weakly got up.

"May, we're not doing to good," Ash said.

"Yeah, sorry," I said automatically.

"No! It's not that, it's just-"

"CHHAAA!" Pikachu squealed after getting hit by an Aura Sphere, quickly standing up again.

"Togikiss! Arial Ace!" Dahila said, Togikiss disappeared and slammed into Bayleaf, knocking him out. My eyes grew wide.

"What? But how?" I asked.

"Remember your Pokémon are trained for contests, they won't handle battles as well," Ash said.

I sighed and returned Bayleaf, congratulating him for trying hard, I pulled out my next Pokéball.

"Okay, Wartortle, take the stage!" I said as I threw my Pokéball into the air. My water type from Kanto appeared on the stage. Dawn once again pressed the red button and the computer scrolled through the list, landing on a red square with an eye in it.

"Uh, what does that do?" I asked. Suddenly, creepy looking eyes appeared all over the stage.

"Mean Look will now affect you two," Dahila said, "Meaning neither of your Pokémon can leave."

"Okay, let's do this!" Ash said, "Pikachu, Iron Tail on Azumarill!"

"Use an Iron Tail of your own Azumarill!" Misty shouted, the attacks collided with a flash as the two Pokémon struggled to resist the other.

_Now's my chance, I thought,_"Wartortle, Ice Beam." I said, Wartortle shot out a frosty cold ice beam at Togikiss while they were distracted, landing a direct hit, causing it to fall with a thud. TheTogikiss confidently got back up, determined not to lose just yet.

"Okay, Togikiss, Arial Ace!" The Togikiss disappeared.

"Wartortle, Rapid Spin!" I commanded, "And Watergun!" she started spinning around rapidly shooting water all over the place. Togikiss reappeared and slammed into her, causing her the spin uncontrollably and hit the wall. She bounce off the wall and slammed right into Azumarill who was still trying to use Iron Tail on Pikachu, who finally had an opening and slammed down his own Iron Tail on Azumarill.

"Azumarill!" Misty shouted concerned. The blue Pokémon got up looking extremely angry at Wartortle, who cringed at the face.

"Hydro Pump!" Misty shouted. Azumarill spat a powerful pillar of water at Wartortle, slamming her into a wall. Watertortle wearily got back up.

"Take a break Wartortle," I said, pulling out her Pokéball, I shot a red beam at her, but she wouldn't return.

"May, Mean Look is still in effect," Ash reminded me. My eyes widened and I turned back to Watortle.

"Pikachu! Thunderbolt on Azumarill!" Ash said, sparks flew around but missed Azumarill.

"It's so fast!" Ash exclaimed.

"Ice Beam on Pikachu!" Misty shouted. The bright beam shot at Pikachu.

"Use Quick Attack to dodge!" Ash said, Pikachu dashed out of the way.

"Extreme Speed!" Dahila said. Togikiss shot towards Pikachu so fast a could have sworn I was seeing double. The attacks collided with an explosion. The dust settled and both Pokémon where still standing!

"Azumarill, Ice Beam on Pikachu," Misty said.

"Wartortle, stop it with Rapid Spin!' I said. Wartortle hopped infront of Pikachu, spinning around, the Ice Beam bounces off her and hit Togikiss, surrounding it in ice.

"It's frozen!" Misty shouted.

Ash and I exchanged confident glances.

"Pikachu! Iron Tail!"

"Wartortle, Rapid Spin!" the two attacks mashed into the frozen Azumarill and shattered the ice, and knocked it out.

"Great job Togikiss!" Dahila said as she returned her Pokémon.

"Yeah!" Dawn shouted, "Go Ash and May!" It felt weird to hear her actually cheering for me. I smiled and nodded towards her.

"Blaziken, GO!" Dahila shouted, tossing her Pokéball into the air.

"Oh boy," Ash said. Dawn pressed the button and a grey square with an odd shape on it, suddenly, the field was covered with a thick fog.

"Ash, what's going on?" I asked.

"I think the machine activated fog!" He said. Realizing that Mean Look no longer was in effect, I returned Wartortle.

"Beautifly, come on out!" I shouted. My bug type Pokémon emerged sparkling brightly.

"Blaze Kick on Pikachu!" We heard from the other side of the Mist. A tired Pikachu dashed oft fog in front of Ash, and flash of orange appeared in the fog.

"Pikachu! Use Thunder!" Pikachu shot sparks into the fog where the orange had appeared, but hit nothing.

"Dang fog," Ash groaned.

"Beautifly, fly above the fog and find Blaziken and Azumarill!" Beautifully shot above the mist, but Dahila saw this as a chance.

"Sky Uppercut!" She shouted. Blaziken leapt into the air and hit Beautifly directly.

"Pikachu! Thunder!" Ash said, the attack hit the Blazkien who was still suspended in the air as Beautifly tumbled to the ground.

"Azumarill, Ice Beam!" Azumarill could tell where the electricity came from because it hit Pikachu head on. He fell backwards and fainted.

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted as he ran to his Pokémon, "Are you okay buddy?" he asked as he picked Pikachu up.

"Great Job, Pikachu," Ash said as he handed Pikachu over to Dawn, who gently held him as she pressed the button again. It landed on the mist function again.

"Oh man!" I mumbled.

"May," Ash said, I turned to him, "We're losing faster than we're winning."

"I can tell," I said depressingly.

"I didn't realize it before but there is something we don't have that they got," He said.

"What?" I asked.

"Sync..." he answered. My eyes grew wide, he was right! They had been working together to take us down.

"We can't beat them on our own..." I said.

"... We need to work-" Ash began.

"Together." we said at the same time.

"Let's show them what we're really made of," Ash said, a smile appeared on my face, we where going to beat these two, no matter what...

... Together...

"Totodile, I choose you!" Ash said, tossing his Pokéball into the air, the little Johto starter did his cute little dance as he appeared.

"Ready!" Dahila asked.

"Ready!" We said together.

"Beautifly, use Gust," I shouted, the fog cleared almost immediately, revealing our two opponents.

"Totodile, jump into Beautifly!" Ash shouted.

"Azumarill, Ice Beam on Beautifly," Misty said.

"Dodge it Beautifly!" I shouted.

"Overheat on Beautifly!" Dahila commanded.

"Block it with Hydro Pump Totodile!"

It happened quickly, Totodile hopped onto Beautifly as Azumarill shot an Ice Beam at them, which Beautifly gracefully dodged. Meanwhile, Blaziken had charged up for an Over Heat and shot it at Beautifly, but it was stopped short by Totodile's Hydro Pump.

Now it was our turn.

"Charge at Azumarill, Beautifly!" I said. Ash caught on to what I was doing remember back with what happened back at his first Frontier Battle.

"Headbutt, Totodile!" Ash shouted. As Beautifly raced towards Azumarill, Totodile leapt off, with Headbutt, and the added momentum of Beautifly charging forward gave the attack even more power, knocking Azumarill out.

"YES!" Ash shouted, we slapped our hands together for a highfive.

"Looks like you two are finally in sync," Dahila said as Misty returned Azumarillz, "Now the true battle can begin!"

"Politoad, Come on out!" Misty said as she released her next Pokémon. A fat green yellowish frog appeared on the field, a swirl on his stomach. Dawn pushed the button and rain was activated.

"Headbutt," Misty ordered.

"Headbutt!" Ash said. Totodile and Politoad rammed into each other and collided with a bang, the two Pokémon pushed as hard as they could but it was an even match.

"Steel Wing on Politoad!" I shouted.

"No you don't!" Dahila shouted, "Blaziken, Flame Thrower!"

"Dodge and try Steel Wing again," I told Beautifly, who stopped her attack and barrel rolled out of the way. Before trying Steel Wing, this time hitting Politoad.

"You take Politoad, I'll take Blazikan," Ash said, I nodded in response.

"Beautifly, Steel Wing on Politoad!" I shouted, Beautifly's wings shined metallically as she raced towards Politoad, who hopped out of the way. For something so chubby, it sure was fast.

"Totodile, Hydro Pump on Blaziken," Ash shouted, Totodile shot the jet of water from his mouth but Blaziken dodged.

"Blaziken, Blaze Kick!" Dahila said.

"Politoad, Ice Beam!" Misty commanded. Blaziken leapt into the air and slammed a blazing foot into Totodile while Politoad got a direct hit on Beauifly.

"That didn't work, back to teamwork," Ash said.

"Get one of them in the air were they can't maneuver enough to dodge, I'll do the rest," I told him, he smiled and turned back to the raining battle field.

"Totodile, Headbutt Blaziken," Ash shouted, Totodile charged towards Blaziken, who leapt into the air, dodging the attack.

"Steel Wing!" I shouted, which surprised Dahila and Misty, they thought Beautifly had been occupied on Politoad. Beautify charged and slammed into Blaziken full force, causing the fire type to tumble to the ground with a boom. It slowly got back up, shaking a bit.

"Now that Blaziken it weakened, it can't hurt us as badly, so we should strike at Politoad," Ash said.

"But... Blazkien's ability is..." I began, realizing what was about the happen. Blaziken began to glow and an orange aura surrounded it.

"Blaze..." I finished, Ash's eyes widened and shoulders slumped.

"Forgot about that," He said, "Okay, Totodile return! Riolu, I choose you!" Ash said. I looked over at Ash, why would he do that? Totodile had an advantage over Blaziken. Riolu flipped onto the stage happily, ready for his next battle.

"May, switch back into Wartortle," Ash said. I nodded, still not quite catching onto what he was going. I returned Beautifly and sent out Wartortle.

"Okay, Ash," I asked, "What are you up to?"

"Okay, so Blaziken and Politoad are really fast right?" He began.

"Right, we've been struggling to hit them..." I replied.

"Riolu knows Aura Sphere, an attack that is unable to miss, they can't dodge it," Ash explained, a grin appeared on my face.

"And you needed a water type to replace Totodile at the moment to handle Blaziken," I said, it all made sense now.

"Right, so you keep Blaziken at bay, I'm gonna finish Politoad!" Ash said.

"Alright Wartortle, don't let anyone get close to Riolu!" I shouted.

"Riolu, Aura Sphere on Politoad," Ash said. Riolu began forming an Aura Shere in his hands, while Blaziken leapt toward him.

"Water Gun!" I shouted, Wartortle fired a water gun at Blaziken, forcing him to jump back.

"Keep it up!" I shouted.

"Fire!" Ash shouted, the Aura Sphere shot from Riolu's hands and flew towards Politoad.

"Jump to dodge!" Misty shouted.

She had fallen right into Ash's trap...

Politoad leapt into the air avoiding the attack, but the Aura Shere turned and hit it in the air, hitting it directly and leaving it helpless.

"Bone Rush!" Ash said. Riolu leapt into the air above the suspended Politoad and created an odd stick made of light and forcefully hit Politoad with it several times, the final strike set it rocketing into the ground. The dust created from the water type slamming into the ground slowly dispersed as Riolu gracefully landed. The cloud of dust disappeared showing a knocked out Politoad. Misty sighed and returned it, thanking it for putting up such a good fight.

"Okay, Riolu, come back," Ash said, "Totodile, come on out!" His blue starter reappeared on the field. Dawn pressed the button and it landed on a grey tile with a wire box on it. Suddenly, an odd box appeared around the field.

"This is Trick Room," Ash said.

"What's trick room?" I asked.

"Uh, it's kind of confusing, basically it makes fast Pokémon slow, and slow Pokémon fast," Ash looked over at the tired Blaziken, "It turned the strategy of speed against them, this our chance!"

"Alright," Misty said, "I choose-"

Suddenly, a Pokéball on her belt lit up and snapped open, and a yellow Psyduck appeared on the field.

"Psyduck?" Misty shouted, "How many times have I told you not to do that?"

"Psy?" He groaned.

"Alright May," Ash said, "Pysduck is another Pokémon who powers up when it takes damage, so... Let just ignore it for right now..." I raised a brow and shrugged, I guess that it was a story for another day.

"Ugh, Pysduck, Water Gun!" Misty shouted.

"Psy?" Psyduck tilted his head before spraying out water from its mouth.

"Dodge," I said, Wartortle leapt away from the water.

"Okay, Totodile Hydropump!" Ash said.

"Over Heat!" Dahila shouted, the attacks collided and the two Pokémon fought to overpower the other.

_That Totodile is strong for a starter, I wonder how powerful he would be fully evolved,_I thought. Suddenly, the attacks exploded and mist appeared all over the field.

"Heh, It's 'misty'," Ash said, Misty rolled her eyes.

"Very clever pun, Ash," She said sarcastically with a smirk.

" Totodile Water Gun," Ash said, the attack flew at Blaziken, who wasn't fast enough to dodge due to Trick Room.

"Blaziken, Close Combat!" Dahila shouted.

"Dodge them!" Ash said.

"Water Gun!" Misty shouted.

"Use Withdraw to protect Totodile!" I shouted.

Wartortle leapt in front of Totodile and withdrew into her shell, taking virtually no damage. Blaziken attempted to use Close Combat, but failed miserably due to the sluggish motions caused by Trick Room, allowing Totodile to easily dodge all of the punches.

"May, I want to try to hit Blaziken again with Hydro Pump, but I want to do it up close, and we can't afford to miss again." Ash said.

I caught on to what he was up to, "Wartortle, Rapid Spin on Blaziken!" Wartortle leapt into the air and spun around like crazy, hit Blaziken, the attack probably did minimum damage, but it knocked Blaziken over.

"Hydropump Totodile!" Ash shouted, Totodile blew one last finally Hydro Pump directly at Blaziken, dealing massive damage.

"Come on Blaziken, I know you can get up!" Dahila shouted.

"Totodile, tickle Pysduck!" Ash commanded.

"What?" Dahila, Dawn, and I shouted, Misty's eyes free wide and a smirk appeared on Ash's face. Totodile began to tickle Psyduck until it fell over on the ground laughing and eventually returned himself to his Pokéball.

"Um..." Dahila said... "I guess that means... Psyducks out?" Dawn pressed the big red button and the list scrolled again, landing on a red square with a minus 5 on it.

"Your Pokémon will be weakened," Dahila said, "Now I strike back." Misty sighed and returned to the bleachers, she was out of the match.

"Blaziken, Thunder Punch Wartortle!" Dahila said.

"Try to dodge!" I shouted, but now that Trick Room was no longer in effect, Wartortle was extremely tired, and she had been weakened even more by the effects of the Battle Arcade, Blaziken landed a powerful Thunder Punch. Wartortle flew backwards and landed on her back, knocked out.

"That was a quick round..." Ash said, I returned Wartortle and thanked her, and sent out Beautifly.

"Okay, we got to be careful, Blaziken has some powerful moves especially with Blaze activated," I warned her.

"May, try to distract Blaziken, Totodile and I will do the rest," Ash said, I nodded.

"Beautifly, fly around Blaziken," I said, Beautifly flew around several times around Blaziken, causing it to try to spin around to see the Bug type.

"Flamethrower!" Dahila shouted.

"Water Gun!" Ash ordered.

Flames flew from Blaziken's mouth, and hit Beautifly, causing her to fall to the ground, immediately after, Blaziken was hit with Totodile's Water Gun, knocking him out.

"Great Job Blaziken..." Dahila said as she returned her fire type.

"Beautifly!" I shouted, "Do you want to keep battling?" I asked, my faithful Pokémon nodded determinedly and flew into the air again.

"That's the spirit!" Ash shouted.

"Alright, let's see if you two like my final Pokémon!" Dahila shouted. She threw her Pokéball into the air and released her Pokémon.

"Oh boy..." Ash said, I backed up a little bit.

"Yeah... Oh boy..." I said.

The Pokémon let out a mighty screech, Dahila walked up to it and patted its back while it nuzzled her with its head.

"Ash, May, I'd like you to meet Zapdos," Dahila said proudly.

"A Legendary Pokémon!" Ash exclaimed.

"Now let's finish what we started!" Dahila said, Dawn pressed the button and it landed on Mean Look again.

"Oh no! Now I can't returned Totodile!" Ash shouted. This was bad, electric type moves would be super effective against us both.

"Discharge!" Dahila shouted. Electricity flew through the air and hit both Totodile and Beautifly, causing them to both fall.

"No!" Both Ash and I shouted. I sighed and returned Beautifly, Ash did the same to Totodile, I had used three Pokémon, I was out of the match. It was the final round: Ash vs. Dahila.

"Thanks for battling with me May, you did fantastic," Ash said, I blushed and a smile crept up on my face. Only Ash could brighten up a loss. I walked back up to the bleachers and sat with Misty and Scott. Dawn pressed the button for the last time, and it landed on a grey box with a cancel sign on it.

"There will be no event this round..." Dahila said, "Ironic, isn't it?"

Her job was basically over, so Dawn joined us up in the bleachers, Pikachu in her lap. Gengar, who had been sitting by Ash throughout the whole battle floated up to the bleachers and sat down on my lap. Ash looked down at Riolu, who was the only Pokémon he was allowed to send out.

"You think you're ready for this?" He asked him, Riolu nodded and jumped onto the stage.

"Let do this," Dahila said.

"Let's..." Ash replied.

"Drill Peck!"

"Bone Rush!"

Zapdos lunged at Riolu with amazing force, making me shiver. I had to admit, I was concerned for Riolu. Riolu formed his light stick thing and leapt into the air, but only managed to hit Zapdos once. He stopped Bone Rush and landed back on the ground.

"Drill Peck again!"

"Aura Sphere and dodge!"

Zapdos again attempted to hit Riolu, but he rolled out of the way and shot an Aura Sphere, again hitting Zapdos.

"Ash is doing pretty well," Dawn said.

"Agility, and Thunder Shock!" Dahila said, Zapdos appeared and disappeared in random locations, and suddenly attacked Riolu.

"RIII!" Riolu shouted, I cover my mouth with my hand, and Gengar covered his eyes with his hands.

"Hang in there Riolu!" Ash shouted, Riolu's eyes snapped opened and he cut Thunder Shock short.

"Aura Sphere!" Ash shouted. Riolu shot a ball and hit Zapdos with the undodgable move.

"Fly high and use Roost!" Dahila said.

Zapdos shot high in the air above the battle field and surrounded itself with sparkly feathers.

"What's it doing?" Dawn asked.

"Roost restores health," Scott explained.

"That means..." I began...

"Yep, It'll be like Zapdos didn't take any damage." Scott said, Dawn stood up in rage.

"That's not fair!" She shouted.

"It's an official move, it completely legal to use," Misty said. Dawn pouted and sat back down.

"Another Aura Sphere!" Ash commanded. A Sphere shot up at the Zapdos and hit it again. It dove down from the sky and circled around the stadium fast.

"Aura Sphere!"

"Detect!" Dahila said.

Zapdos's eyes began to glow blue, and it dodge Aura Sphere!

"But I thought..." I began.

"Detect allows the user to dodge almost any move, even Aura Sphere," Scott said. "Dahila was excellent at teaching Pokémon these moves, and they sure come in handy."

"Come on Ash!" Dawn shouted loudly, making everyone wince, "You can take it!"

"Agility again!" Dahila said. Zapdos again appeared and disappeared in random locations.

"Riolu, use your Aura to detect where it is!" Ash shouted, Riolu closed his eyes and a blue aura began to glow around him.

"Bone Rush!" Ash said. Riolu's eyes snapped open and he formed the light stick. What happened next seemed impossible. Riolu successfully hit Zapdos, then it disappeared and reappeared, Riolu spun around and hit him again. The continued about five more times, I had never seen a Pokémon move as fast as Riolu did that day.

"Abort Zapdos, use Drill Peck!"

"Block with Bone Rush!"

"Is he crazy?" Misty shouted, "A little Pokémon like that can't withstand the pure force of a Legendary!"

"Well, this is a special Riolu," I explained, "He can use the Aura. and well... Is fiercer than a Legendary..." I realized I quoted what Team Rocket had said about Gengar a while ago. Riolu spun the glowing stick around in circles so fast that it looked like he was holding a disk, Zapdos collided with the Bone Rush and struggled to overpower the small Pokémon.

"I think the fact that Zapdos is in the air while Riolu has a firm grip on the ground makes a difference in strength at the moment..." Scott said.

Suddenly, Riolu began to glow.

"Is he..." Dawn gasped.

"He's evolving!" Ash exclaimed. Riolu grew taller, larger, and more muscular. The glowing died down to reveal a full fledged Lucario, who let out a roar as he emitted arua.

"Awesome!" Ash shouted. The newly evolved Lucario let out a growl and shoved Zapdos back, sending it backward.

"Whoa... What power..." Misty said.

"Let's check this out..." I said, opening my Pokédex, Dawn, Misty, Pikachu, and Gengar looked over in interest.

"Lucario, the Aura Pokémon, and the evolved form of Riolu." The Pokédex began, "By sensing the aura of its opponents, Lucario can read their thoughts and movements."

"Whoa..." I said.

"This will get interesting," Scott said. Zapdos shot back up on his feet and took flew back up into the sky.

"Okay, Ri- I mean... Lucario, let's use Aura Sphere," Ash said.

"Rrmm," Lucario grunted, he formed the ball and leapt into the air spinning around several times before chucking the Aura Sphere at Zapdos.

"It's acrobatic," Misty said.

"Detect!" Dahila said. Zapdos's eyes began to glow blue and it avoided to the attack.

"They seem to keep overcoming each other's strategies, rendering them useless," Scott said. "They're both very clever battlers."

"Quick Attack!" Dahila shouted.

"Bone Rush!" Ash exclaimed.

Zapdos shot through the air towards Lucario fast as lightning while Lucario began Bone Rush, striking Zapdos square on the head. But Zapdos still managed to hit Lucario, knocking him over and knocking him over. Lucario did a summersault and got back on his feet.

"Grrrr..." He growled at Zapdos.

"Zapdos, Discharge at full power!" Dahila said.

"Get as far away from Zapdos ad you can!" Ash shouted. Lucario dashed away as Zapdos released a massive amount of energy, so powerful even I could feel the powerful volts... It kind of... Hurt...

"Rrrrr!" I heard Ash shout. I looked down at the stage and saw Ash getting hurt by the attack.

"Oh No!" I shouted.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>**  
><strong>  
>"Get as far away from Zapdos as you can!" I shouted as I heard Dahila command a Discharge. Lucario spun around a ran before the entire stadium lit up with electricity. Suddenly, pain ripped through my body, electricity shot through my veins. I let out a scream, and fell to my knees. I could hear Dahila scream in pain from the over powered attack as well.<p>

"Zapdos! Stop!" She shouted, but it was no use, Zapdos couldn't hear her. I gritted my teeth, and slammed my fist into the ground. Just as I began to black out, the pain halved. I opened my eyes and saw an object in front of me.

"MAY? What are you doing!" I shouted, she didn't respond, her eyes and teeth were clenched, as she blocked the attack from hitting. I tackled her to the ground, blocking her and taking the full blunt of the force again.

"A-Ash!" She shouted, but I didn't respond, the pain was too much. She struggled to get free but I held onto her tightly, blocking to attack. Suddenly, the attach felt weaker again, I looked up and saw Lucario blocking the attack.

"Lucario! Get out of here!" I shouted, by he furiously shook his head. Suddenly, an idea came to me.

"Gible! Come out!" I struggled to open his Pokéball, the Ground/Dragon type came out, and thankfully couldn't feel the electric attack at all. "Gible, Dig on Zapdos now!" I shouted and Gible quickly disappeared under the ground. Suddenly, Lucario fell to his knees.

"L-Lucario!" I shouted.

"Ash!" May screamed.

And then everything went black.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV.<strong>

The stadium was filled with people, they were all cheering for me, Pikachu used Iron Tail on a Garchomp and KOed it. I leapt into the air and shouted, Pilachu happily leapt into my arms as I celebrated with him, Gengar, and Lucario.

"We did it! We beat Cynthia!" I shouted, "That means I'm the Pokémon Master!" I looked down at my Pokémon.

"You guys are the greatest!" I said. Cynthia walked up to me and shook my hand with a smile on her face.

"Great battle Ash," she said, "You've earned your new title." I smiled and nodded. Suddenly, the earth began to shake, I fell to the ground, Cynthia stood over me.

"Ash?" She said. The ground continued to shake, but nobody but me seemed to feel it.

"Ash?" Cynthia said, a little louder, except, she didn't sound quite like Cynthia.

"ASH!" She scream. She sounded didn't sound like Cynthia at all, she sounded like May! My eyes snapped open and I found myself on the ground, my head was laying on something soft and May was shaking my shoulders.

"Hu, wah?" I asked.

"Oh thank God!" May exclaimed as she hugged my head tightly. I could hear her breathing and heart beating. She let go of me and set my head down, back where it had been, which must have been in her lap.

"Pika Pi!" I heard Pikachu shout as he leapt into my chest. I hugged him and sat up, looking around. Scott was talking to Dahila, Dawn was crouched on the ground petting Gible, and giving him Poffins, which he seemed to like, Zapdos laid on the field unconscious as Nurse Joy looked over it, and another Nurse Joy was looked over a hurt Lucario, and I didn't see Misty anywhere. May stood up and helped me to my feet.

"Say, where's-"

"GENGAR!" I heard before a purple blur rammed into me and knocked me back down to the ground. Gengar laid on top of me and snuggled into my torso, May let out a giggle.

"Gengar has been worried about you," May said. Gengar got off of me and I got back onto my feet.

"So what happened?" I asked, May let out a weary sigh.

"Well, apparently Zapdos's Discharge when overload," She began, "And the electricity was out of its control, Dahila says the electricity would have become so powerful, we all would have died if you hadn't sent out Gible and stopped it. Lucario was pretty badly hurt from protecting us, but he stayed conscious."

"Whoa, that's interesting," I said, May suddenly hugged me.

"I'm just glad you're okay..." She said, I hugged her back.

"Yeah, and thanks for trying to protect me from the electricity before I stopped you," I said, May let out a laugh.

"Yeah, that was a stupid move..." She said, I felt Pikachu and Gengar hug me as well while I embraced May. We let go of each other and I walked over to Lucario and the Nurse Joy he was with. He sat on the ground as she gave him medicine.

"He took some harsh damage, but he'll be fine," The Nurse Joy said. I reaching over and embraced my newly evolved Pokémon.

"Thanks for protecting me and May," I said. He grunted with a grin and hugged me back. I heard footsteps approach me from behind; I stood up and found Dahila standing there with Scott, handing over a print.

"Ash, I'm honored to reward you and your brave Pokémon the Commemorative Print of the Battle Arcade!" Dahila said.

"But we didn't finish our battle," I said, Dahila smiled.

"Sure we did, Zapdos was knocked out while Lucario stayed conscious, although I would have given this to you even if he hadn't, you should be extremely proud of all your Pokémon." Dahila said, I smiled and took the print.

"I am..." I said proudly, I looked down at the print, like always, the Battle Arcade was in the background and a picture of Dahila was on the right side, while a photo of me, May, Pikachu, Gengar, and "Riolu" was on the left side.

"May, here's your print," Dahila said, turning to May and giving her the print.

"Y-you mean I get one?" She stuttered.

"Of course, both you and Ash won!" She said. May smiled and took the print, and began to admire it.

"You're okay!" Dawn squealed as she tackled me to the ground, "I was so worried." She said, she got off me and held up Gible, who smiled at me.

"Using Gible to stop Zapdos was genius!" She said, "I don't get how-"

*CHOMP!*

"YOUCH! GIBLE!" I shouted as the Pokémon playfully bit down on my head.

* * *

><p><strong>What time is it!<strong>

**Review responding time!**

**Derp derp. Okay so let's begin.**

**Ghost For Linkin Park: Well, I honestly don't care what shipping Dawn's in (besides Pearlshipping of course) Ikarishipping seemed to be the most popular, soooo, yeah, that's what I'm probably gonna stick to for this fic at least.**

**Thatguythatisnotyou: Congrats! But there is no prize, sorry.**

**KittyAttack: No, you wouldn't have won anything I have nothing to give, not even spoilers :/ **

**ClarinetOverLord: yes, Gible totally is the Chuck Norris of Pokémon, and Gengar can be considered God.**

**Capt. Rogers: Sorry to hear that, I am dropping the catfights between the two girls (as you can see) but I got a new idea in store :D. duh duh DUHHH!**

**Yep, so it's not like I'm gonna start ending stories with references from famous youtubers but…**

**TEEHEE!**

**Sorry, couldn't help mahself.**


	17. Chapter 17: The Exterminators

**Chapter 17: The Exterminators**

* * *

><p><strong>Surprise! With the way I've been rolling lately, you probably didn't expect another chapter so soon. But I hope You enjoy it.<strong>

**Ugh, as much as I enjoy writing this, There are parts that I would just love to skip... Like contests... Grrr, I don't like writing those, and I've also realized it's challenging to write double battles. So a Tag Contest Battle? *shudder* That's why the (Spoiler) contest (Spoiler end) in this chapter is short. Lol**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, but I own at that games (c wat I did thar?)**

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

Ash, Dawn, Misty, and I sat around a table at the Pokémon Center, Ash complained about how much he was starving until his plate of food was set in front of him.

"So next up we are going to Blackthorn City for my next Contest," Dawn said, she glanced over at me and corrected herself, "I mean, our next contest..."

Ash looked up at us, surprise written on his face, but he shrugged it off and continued eating.

"I hope you guys don't mind if I join you all," Misty said, "I am determined to save Suicune. No water Pokémon should be held captive by Team Rocket."

_Is that all?_ I thought, beginning to get suspicious. _After all, Misty has known Ash a long time, had she...?_ I shook my head, _I certainly hope not, me and Dawn had just gotten over our differences, having another person to rival against would be tiring._I glanced over at Dawn, who also seemed suspicious about Misty.

"Gen?" Gengar popped up out of nowhere in front of Misty, a wide grin on his face.

"AAHHH!" Misty exclaimed, startled by him, and knocked him on the head, over the table, and he landed on the floor with a thump.

"What happened Misty? Did you see a bug Pokémon?" Ash asked, not even looking up from the food he was devouring.

"It was that freaky ghost thing!" She exclaimed. Gengar had climbed back onto the table looking rather enraged. I grabbed him in the nick of time as he lunged at Misty, startling her again, and making her fall back out of her seat.

"THAT LITTLE-!" Misty began, Gengar began forming a small shadow ball, but it completely disappeared as I grabbed a French fry from Misty's plate and gave it to him.

"See? He was just asking for a french fry," I said as Gengar devoured it, "and he got a little mad when you hit him."

"Hmph," Misty grumbled, Dawn stifled a giggle. Gengar got down off the table and sat down on the floor by Ash with Pikachu, Lucario, Totodile and Gible, occasionally stealing a glare at Misty.

"So Ash," Dawn began, "What did you mean when you asked Misty if she had seen a bug Pokémon?"

"Oh, Misty has a strange fear of bugs," Ash said. Misty shivered.

"Just thinking about them makes my skin crawl," She said. Ash rolled his eyes when Misty wasn't looking.

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

It was time to get some answers, so that's why I found myself sitting in the lobby with nobody around but Misty.

"So, what brought you over here?" I asked her, she tilted her head, looking a little confused.

"I told you before, to see Dahila," She said.

"Are you sure there was nothing else?" I asked. She gave me a blank face.

"Yes" was her answer.

_Careful Dawn,_ I thought to myself, _you need to ask the question in the right way, not to quickly or she'll be scared away._

"Is it because you like Ash?" I blurted, quickly covering my mouth with my hand, and mentally face-palming. _Gosh darn it, me and my big mouth,_I thought to myself.

Misty looked surprised, "How could you tell?"

"AH HA!" I exclaimed leaping out of my seat, "SO YOU CONFESS!"

_And I over react too..._

"Y-yeah," She stammered, sweat-dropping. I leaned down so we were at eye level, glaring deep into her eyes.

"I'll have you know, Ash is mine," I said, point my thumb at myself "You can't have him." Misty gasped before her face darkened with anger.

"OH YEAH? I DIDN'T SEE YOUR NAME WRITTEN ON HIM!" She exclaimed, jumping to her feet. I had done it now "WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU HAVE ANY RIGHT TO SAY THAT TO ME?"

_Eep._

_This was not what I had in mind. I didn't want to get such an angry and violent response from her, _I thought, _but I have to stand my ground_, "Because I claimed him first!"

"I saw him first!" She exclaimed.

"What are you two shouting about?"

We both jumped and turned to see Paul standing there with a smirk.

"What business of that is yours?" Misty asked, Paul was taken aback by her outburst. In fact, that was the first time I had see him react to something like that. Misty just was fiercer than a legendary.

"I-I know her..." Paul said pointing at me. Misty huffed and shoved us both out of the way before stomping off. Paul watched her leave mouth a jar.

"What a brat," He grumbled, turning to me, "She's worse than you."

"WHAT?" I shouted, making him to smirk. "At least she takes jokes better." He said and he walked off, leaving me by myself.

"Hmph," I huffed. Before I stomped out of the Pokémon Center.

_I gotta find May,_ I thought, _we have to get rid of Misty._

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

"Alright, Lucario, use Bone Rush on this rock," I said, picking up a rock from the ground. Lucario smiled and formed the light stick, I threw the rock at him and which he hit head on, and it flew over the trees and disappeared.

"Pikahh..."

"Gengar..." Both my Pokémon were astonished by Lucario's strength. We had decided to take some time to train by the Lake of Rage for our next Frontier Battle.

"I see your Riolu evolved..." I turned around and saw Paul walking up

"Oh... Hey Paul..." I said, "Are you here to challenge the Battle Arcade?" I asked him. He nodded.

"Yeah, but I can't find the stupid thing anywhere," he said, frustration laced in his voice.

"Oh, you won't believe were it is," I told him. He raised a brow.

"Would I? Is it one of those floating bases in the sky?" He asked, causing me to smirk.

"No, even better," I said, pointing at the lake, he glanced over at the lake, before looking back at me with no expression.

"Is this some sort of joke?" He asked, "There's nothing there..."

"Or is there?" I replied.

Paul growled, "Whatever, I'll just find it myself..." He turned around and began to walk away. Lucario picked up a rock and chucked it at a nearby tree, hoping to get Paul's attention.

*Clank!*

Paul froze. He turned to face the tree, blinking a few times, he walk up to the tree and pounded it a fee times.

*Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!*

He looked over at me, while me and my Pokémon smiled. He felt around the tree looking for a button. At one point, he pulled down on a branch, opening one of the many entrances to the Battle Arcade.

"Well, this is interesting," He said, stepping inside, "Later," he said, the entrance closed and he disappeared.

"Back to training," I told my Pokémon.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"Wow, didn't know Misty could be like that," I said after Dawn had told me what her story about Misty. We sat in our room at the Pokémon Center.

"We need to do something about her," Dawn said.

"How?" I asked.

"Oh, same way I dealt with you," Dawn said, I sweat-dropped.

"But that... Hasn't worked yet..." I said, Dawn's shoulders slumped.

"Oh yeah..."

A smirk grew on my face, "We need to get creative," I said.

Dawn's raised a brow, "I'm listening..."

**May's POV**

Today we were finally leaving Mahogany Town and heading off to Blackthorn City, it felt like we had been hanging around here forever. I was ready to get going, and so was Ash.

"COME ON YOU GUYS! LET'S GO!" Ash exclaimed.

"Dawn's still doing her hair," Misty explained, Ash rolled his eyes and hopped on his toes, ready to move on, his Pokémon copying his motions.

"Sorry, but this is a Pokémon Center, not a dance recital," We turned and saw Paul walked by.

"Hey Paul, Did you get your Print!" Ash asked, Paul nodded and showed us the shiny piece of paper.

"Awesome!" Ash exclaimed, "Where are you heading next?" Paul gazed towards the door to the Pokémon Center.

"Blackthorn City is supposedly were the next Frontier Facility is," Paul said. Ash began to get excited.

"Hey, we're heading there too! Want to come with us?" Ash suggested. Paul scanned each one of us, but his gaze stop on Misty, giving her a strange glare. Odd.

"Fine, How long until you leave?" He asked, Ash's jaw dropped, he obviously didn't expect Paul to accept.

"Uh... We're waiting for Dawn..." Ash said, Paul let out a sigh. Dawn cheerfully appeared from the hall, stopping short when she saw Paul.

"What is he doing here?" She asked.

"And you thought I was rude..." Paul mumbled.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing..."

"Paul is joining us to Blackthorn City," Ash said. Dawn seemed surprised, but shrugged it off. With that, we all walked out of the Pokémon Center and strolled down Route 44.

_Time to begin Phase 1._

"Oh, what I beautiful day," I said, "I should let Beautifly out," I tossed my ball into the air and Beautifly came out. Misty stopped in her tracks.

"C-couldn't you let out a d-different Pokémon?" She asked, Beautifly began to flutter around her happily.

"Nah, besides, I think she likes you!" I said.

"Well I don't like her!" Misty screamed trying to run away from the bug type.

"Oh come on Misty, you need to overcome your fear someday, why not now?" Ash said. Misty was too busy to pay any attention though. Dawn and I fist pounded, but Paul turned around and looked at us while we were doing it. He gave us a weird look while Dawn fanatically signaled him not to say anything; he nodded and turned back around. Dawn and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, Phase 1: success. Notes: Be more careful celebrating," Dawn whispered. I nodded in agreement. Now it was on to Phase Two, but we were going to need Gengar.

Dawn dug into her backpack and pulled out a box. Gengar's ears suddenly perked up, and floated away from Ash and up to me and Dawn. As we opened up the box, revealing the French Fries inside, he began to drool.

"Annoy Misty and we'll give you these," Gengar nodded and cracked his knuckles. "But don't hurt her..." I added, he looked a little disappointed, but nodded again. He had a bone to pick with Misty, and now he was being rewarded to get revenge.

"GENGAR!" Gengar appeared on front of Misty and use Astonish, she freaked out and fell on her butt.

"WHY YOU LITTLE-!" Misty screamed, Gengar disappeared and reappeared next to Beautifly, whom Misty still wouldn't get close to for anything.

"Ash, return the freaky thing right NOW!" Misty demanded.

"Aw, but Gengar was just showing some affection, that's how he shows he likes you," Dawn said, "It's like how Gible bites Ash."

"Yeah, isn't that right Gengar?" I asked, winking at him. He caught on.

"Gen!" He said cheerfully before he zipped towards Misty and tackled her to the ground.

"Isn't that precious," Dawn said.

"Ugh, I'm going to get that thing!" Misty exclaimed angrily, Gengar disappeared and reappeared hiding behind my back.

"Don't hurt him," I said, stroking his fur, "He's just being nice." Misty's face seemed to slowly soften, as if willing to give Gengar a chance; she leaned over at eye level with Gengar.

"Alright," Misty said, she stuck out her hand to shake with Gengar, who stared at it for a moment before biting down on it.

"Ow!"

"Aw, he really must like you," I said, Misty let out a groan.

The rest of the trip consisted of Beautifly bugging Misty and Gengar showing his violent "Affection." by the time we had finally reached Blackthorn City, Misty was dragging herself to the Pokémon Center. In a way, I felt bad.

And it only got worse...

I was outside the Pokémon Center secretly giving Gengar his french fries, he was eating them happily like there was no tomorrow, "Great job Gengar," I said, "You did great annoying Misty today..."

"He what?" I jump and looked up. Misty was standing over me, and enraged look on her face. If looks could kill, I'm pretty sure Gengar and I would have been dead.

"You're rewarding him? For- for annoying me?" Misty asked.

"Well..." I began.

"What is this about? Why are you doing this?" She demanded. I sighed.

"Um, this it... It's about... It's about Ash..." I said quietly. Misty's jaw dropped and shoulders slumped.

"Y-you too?" She asked, mood changing all of a sudden. She leaned against the wall of the Pokémon Center and slid down to the ground.

"You... Me... And Dawn?" She asked, I nodded.

"It's really silly, you should have seen what Dawn and I were like before we got over our differences..." I said. Misty sadly stared at the ground; Gengar approached her and offered her a fry, which she politely refused, so he happily ate it himself.

I sat down next to her, "Listen, I honestly have nothing against you, I... I just heard about your fight with Dawn..."

I eyes got damp, "I don't really know why I did it..." _Why had I done it? Jealously? I just lashed out at her when she literally had done nothing to me. What did that make me? A stupid, selfish, brat? I had no right to do the things I had..._I sniffed, blinking away a few tears

"Fear..." Misty said, "You did because you were afraid..." I nodded, she was right; she was a threat, between me and what I wanted, just like Dawn...

"We can't all have him..." Misty said, I shook my head, that would never happen, even if it could, that wouldn't be how I would want it, I'd rather not have Ash instead of having to share him... It wasn't right.

"Gen?" I looked up to see Gengar looking at me sadly. I forced a smile and ruffled his hair.

"So... What should we do?" I asked, Misty closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'm going to leave that up to you and Dawn..." she said, I tilted my head surprised.

"What?" I asked, Gengar crawled into my lap, still eating the french fries I had given him.

"I'm giving Ash up, and I'm going home..." Misty said sadly, sniffing a few times, "He isn't mine, I guess... I guess it just wasn't meant to be, besides..." she paused and took a deep breath "There is someone else I can go to..."

I blinked a few times, still taking in what she said. "That's... Really mature of you, Misty," I said, "Who is this 'someone'." Misty laughed and shook her head.

"That's for me to know and you to find out..." she said as she stood up. Gengar got off me and I stood up as well. I smiled at her.

"Thank you," I said.

"You're welcome, but... Win Ash for me, I don't want Dawn to get him," She joked.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

"I thought you said you were sticking around," I said. Misty had just announced she was heading back home.

"I know, but my sisters need me back at the gym," She said sadly.

I sighed sadly before smiling again, "Well, it was fun while it lasted..." I said.

"Yeah..." Misty said, suddenly she lunged forward and hugged me, what was up with that? She had never done that before...

"See you soon," She said, she let go of me and ruffled Gengar and Pikachu's hair before turning to leave, and disappearing out the door.

"I didn't like her anyways," Paul said as he strolled by, he too walked out the door.

"Well, now that we're here, I have a Frontier Print to- GAK!" I was cut short as someone grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me back.

"Oh no you don't! We have a Contest today..." May said, letting go of my shirt.

"You just won your last Frontier Print, do you really need your next one already?" Dawn asked.

"There's no harm in getting it now..." I protested, but May and Dawn wouldn't budge. I flopped down on the couch in the lobby.

"So when is the contest anyways?" I asked.

"This evening," May replied. Suddenly, Lucario's ears perked up and he sat up straighter.

"Rrrrrr..." He slowly growled before jumping to his feet and dashing out the door.

"Lucario, where are you going?" I shouted chasing after him with Pikachu. Lucario was standing outside the Pokémon Center looking out into the mountains.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu shouted as he tugged the shoulder of my jacket, and pointed at the edge of a cliff. I squinted my eyes which then widened with shock.

Entei was there.

He stood at the edge of the cliff, scanning over the city. It felt like he was staring right at me. I started breathing again when I saw him disappear behind the ledge.

"What are you looking at?"

I almost jumped out of my skin. I turned around and saw Dawn standing there waiting for me to reply.

"Nothing, Lucario thought he saw something," I told her, not wanting to freak her out. She looked over at where I had been looking, before shrugging it off. We all walked back into the Pokémon Center, and sat around to wait for May and Dawn's next contest.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"You mean this is a tag Contest?" I asked. We all stood at the front desk of the contest hall, signing in for the contest.

"Yep," the lady at the counter replied, "Just find a partner and sign with him or her." I turned to my friends.

"You and Dawn should pair up," Ash said, "You both could win a ribbon." Dawn and I stared at each other, a few days ago I would have never even considered the idea of teaming up with Dawn for a contest, but now, we had finally put our differences aside, and despite the still lingering rivalry, we had become friends, or "frenemies." No more pushing around or pulling pranks on one another.

"Why not," I said, Dawn's mouth curled into a smile. We both signed in as partners. With that, we left Ash and his Pokémon and heading to the dressing rooms.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

I found seats with my Pokémon to watch the contest. After making myself comfortable, I explained to Lucario and Gengar why I was so excited about this battle.

"I really think that they can be a powerful team if they are willing to work together," I said, "Last time they teamed up was against me and Tracy back in Pallet Town, and that was a disaster."

"Oh, really, what happened?"

"They actually stop fighting against us and turned on each oth- wait," I turned to see Paul sitting close by, head resting in his hands. Without moving he looked over at me and my gaping mouth.

"What?" He asked, I shook my head and brought myself back to reality.

"Sorry, just didn't expect to see you here," I told him.

"I'm just watching to devise strategies..." He said.

"Mmhm..." I said.

"Our first tag team," the announcer shouted, "Is Dawn and May!" on cue, Dawn and May both ran on stage, and tossed their Pokéballs in the air, and out came Togikiss and Bayleaf.

"Togikiss, Aura Sphere!" Dawn said.

"Razor Leaf," May shouted.

The aura sphere was fired into the air followed by a Razor Leaf; the attacks collided and created a small sparkling explosion.

"That's it?" Paul scoffed, I sweat-dropped. Suddenly, Togikiss shot multiple Aura Spheres in several directions, and Bayleaf slung green leafs as well. All the attacks collided and everywhere there was sparkling remains of the attacks.

"Better?" I asked Paul, he slightly nodded. Although the rest of the performances he completely insulted, even if they were good.

I guess I'll just never understand Paul.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

We easily made it into the next round, where we really had to apply our sync. The other team was a boy and a girl, who seemed to know each other quite well.

_Focus..._

"Blaziken, take the stage!" I shouted.

"Feraligatr, come on out," The girl on the other side of the stage shouted.

"Buneary, spotlight!" Dawn let out her Normal type Pokémon.

"Gengar, let's do this!" The boy shouted, throwing his Pokéball in the air. Out came a Gengar... But this one wasn't anything like Ash's Gengar.

"T-that Gengar is huge!" Dawn exclaimed, "It's as tall as me!" I looked at the Pokédex to check Gengar's height.

"It says in the Pokédex the average size of a fully grown Gengar is 4' 11"," I said, "Ash's Gengar is either still young or just small..."

"I think I like them better small..." Dawn said shakily, "This one is nothing like Ash's..." she was right, the size of this Gengar was easily three or four times larger than Ash's Gengar and unlike his, this one didn't seem playful, it was serious, eerie, and mean.

"I hope Ash's Gengar never grows into something as scary as that!" Dawn said, I nodded in agreement.

_This will be interesting..._

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

"Look at that Gengar, it's huge!" I exclaimed.

"I bet it's really strong," Paul said. My Gengar's ears drooped and his grin disappeared. Suddenly he lunged towards the stage; I quickly grabbed him out of the air.

"Gengar! May already picked Blaziken!" I shouted, pulling him back. His determined and angry face dropped into a sad one and his ears drooped again.

"I think Gengar is a little jealous," Paul said, "And he wants to prove how strong he is..." I looked down at the Gengar in my lap, who sadly watched the battle unfold. Pikachu hopped over and began talking with the gloomy Gengar.

"Pika Pika!" He said cheerfully.

"Gen... Gar..." The ghost replied sadly.

"Pika Pikachu chi pi chu, pi pi Pikachu!"

"Pikachu is right," I said "You're the greatest, strongest Gengar I've known! It doesn't matter how big you are or how much power you have, all that matters is what's in here." I tapped his chest where I assumed his heart was. Gengar's ears perked up again and that familiar grin spread across his face.

"Gengar!" He shouted hopping on the railing, cheering for May and Dawn while throwing punches in the air.

"That was such a moving speech," Paul said sarcastically.

Like an idiot, I didn't catch that he was being sarcastic, "Well, you know, a trainers gotta do, what a train- HEY!"

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"Blaze Kick on Gengar!" I shouted. I was at an extreme disadvantage, Fighting type moves wouldn't affect Gengar and Fire type moves wouldn't do much to Feraligatr. I forgot both which cost us some points.

"Dizzy Punch on Feraligatr," Dawn commanded. The Blaze Kick landed on Gengar and knocked him over, while Buneary hit Feraligatr with Dizzy Punch. Luckily for us, Feraligatr became confused and began slamming its head into the ground.

"Feraligatr, snap out of it!" The girl shouted. But the Feraligatr knocked itself out. The girl sighed as their points took a heavy dive.

"Yeah!" Dawn shouted, raising her hand for a high five, but that wasn't where my attention was.

"Dawn!" I shouted, Gengar had formed an odd looking black and purple ball made out of circles, and shot it at Buneary, the attack caused an explosion, making dust fly everywhere. After the dust settled, Buneary appeared knocked out. Our points also took a harsh dive as Dawn returned Buneary, thanking it for a job well done.

It was just Blaziken and that Gengar.

"Shadow Ball!"

"Fire Spin!"

Blaziken's mouth opened and hot flames leapt from her mouth. Gengar shot a Shadow Ball which flew through the spiraling flames and hit Blaziken, but Gengar was still hit by Fire Spin. Blaziken slowly rose to her feet.

"Another Shadow Ball!" The boy shouted, the black ball hit Blaziken before she could react. She flew backwards and landed on her back, when suddenly she was surrounded by an orange aura, Blaze had been activated.

"My turn," I said with a smirk "Blaziken, Overheat!" I shouted.

"Blaziken charged up and blasted the powerful pillar fire from her mouth, making the whole field shake, Blaziken was actually sliding backwards on the ground from the force of the attack. The attack hit Gengar head on. The attack died away and Blaziken fell to one knee exhausted. The Gengar, who levitated over the ground, also seemed to be struggling to stay conscious.

The bell rung...

"Time is up!" The MC shouted, "Let's see who our winner is..." everyone looked up at the score board, I squinted to see the two thin slivers of points each team had, I couldn't tell who had more.

"The winner is..."

...

Curse dramatic pauses...

"The team of May and Dawn!" I fell to my knees in relief, breathing heavily myself.

"Not bad May..." Dawn said. I got up and ran over to Blaziken thanking her for putting up such a great fight.

"GENGAR!" I turned and looked across the battle field and saw Ash small Gengar shouting at the large on.

"Gen, Gengar!" Ash's Gengar shouted.

"Gengar Gen..." The other said wearily, before forming a small, weak Shadow Ball and throwing it at the little Gengar, knocking him on his back.

"Gengar! You know better than that!" The owner scolded, "Return!" But as he pulled out his Pokéball to return the Gengar an eerie eyeball floated and hit the large Shadow Pokémonand suddenly, several eyes appeared around him.

"Hu?" The boy grunted, and shot the red beam at his Gengar, but he wouldn't return...

"Say, that looks like Mean Look," Dawn said, it did! Just like back at the Battle Arcade.

"But who-?" I began to ask but I noticed Ash's Gengar glaring at the large Gengar with glowing, red eyes.

"Geeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnn..." The little Gengar began forming a large Shadow Ball, which grew twice as big as himself. Everyone stepped back.

"GAAARR!" He threw the ball at the Gengar and sent it flying backwards, slamming it into the wall hard, and knocking it out. Gengar stood proudly beaming about his victory.

"Gengar!" I began to stomp over to him, "That was not right!"

"No need, my Gengar was asking for it..." The boy replied, finally returning his knocked out Gengar, "Congratulation on your win," he stuck out his hand.

"You and your Gengar weren't too bad either..." I said, shaking his hand. He and his partner left while Dawn and I were rewarded our ribbon.

"Alright!" I shouted, "I got my fourth Ribbon!" Dawn and I leapt into the air happily. Ash came down onto the stage with Pikachu and Lucario. Gengar floated over to him and plopped down on his head.

"Great job you guys," he said, "You both made a great team." Paul slowly strolled down after him. He just quietly stood behind Ash, before turning around and leaving.

"Where are you going Paul?" Dawn asked, but he didn't reply, he just left without a word.

"I think this calls for a celebration!" Ash exclaimed.

"Oh? And how shall we celebrate?" I asked.

"A nice big dinner..." Ash said excitedly rubbing his stomach, Dawn and I sweat-dropped.

* * *

><p><strong>Someone had asked about Gengar's height and weight in the reviews, and so I looked it up and he actually 4' 11" is tall. But I was going with a Gengar that I had imagined, which meant he was smaller and playful. So yeah, there is my explanation for Gengar's small size. Sorry about the short contest, I promise the next one will be longer (I have big plans for this contest!)<strong>

**Anyways, I have developed the rest of the plot, so I shouldn't have to deal with writer's block anymore.**

**Leave a review please, it will make my day. Have a question? PM me, I'll answer all of them.**

**Next time, we eat a Jigglypuff.**


	18. Chapter 18: Heart Breaker

**Chapter 18: Heart Breaker**

* * *

><p><strong>I must say, I was not very satisfied with my last chapter, it felt rushed and badly written. Oh well, we all have those days. I'm a lot happier with this chap though, so at least try to act excited, haha, lol, rofl.<strong>

**Yeah, not really.**

**Anyways, I don't own Pokémon, no sarcastic wise crack this time.**

**Read and be happy.**

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"So... This is a Battle Tower?" I asked looking up at a tall skyscraper before us.

"Yes, I tried to beat the Frontier Brain yesterday, but..." Paul began. Everyone turned to face him, waiting for him to finish.

"He crushed me, his Rhyperior was extremely powerful." Paul said, "Good luck."

"He won't take me down too easily!" Ash said. "Let's go!" Ash and his Pokémon ran into the Battle Tower.

"Uh... Ketchum..." Paul began. We all ran into the Battle Tower after him. We found Ash standing in front of a door.

"Uh... We gotta wait for the elevator..." Ash said, we all sweat-dropped. We stepped in and looked at all the buttons that would take us to whatever floor desired.

"Go to floor 94, that's the floor the Frontier Brain is on, all the others are worthless battles with other trainers." Paul said.

"Since when have you wanted to help anyone?" Dawn asked, Paul didn't even glance at her.

"He helped me, I help him..." was all he said. I glanced at Ash, who had a cocky smile on his face.

"Wow, Thanks Paul," Ash said, pressing down on the 94 button. The button lit up and the elevator began to move upwards. Lucario looked rather uneasy.

"Is Lucario okay?" I asked. Ash looked over at him as the fighting steel type grabbed Ash's arm and hugged it tightly.

"Oh, he seems to get uneasy on elevators..." Ash explained. Lucario began getting wobbly and fell to his knees.

"Lucario! Are you okay?" Ash asked, kneeling down next to him.

"Rrrrn... Grr..." Lucario groaned, his eyes were clenched shut and he gritted his teeth. Ash slung the sick Pokémon's arm over his shoulder as he lifted him up. I heard a "ding" and the sliding doors opened up. With the help of Ash, Lucario walked out of the elevator.

"Gen?" Gengar asked, concerned about Lucario.

"Don't worry Gengar," Ash said, "Lucario is just feeling sick, he'll be fine." Lucario leaning over and puked. Everyone took a step back and Gengar passed out.

"Clean up on Aisle 12," Dawn said.

"Yeeeeaaaahhhh," Paul said, slowly.

"Oh, I see you made it," Scott said, walking up, stopping and glancing at the vomit and the passed out Gengar. "Or... Almost made it..."

"Heh, yeah, Lucario didn't exactly enjoy the trip..." Ash said. I walked over and picked up the knocked out Gengar, cradling him in my arms.

"I'll take care of Gengar, Ash, you worry about Lucario," I told him.

"Well, follow me, I'll take you to the Frontier Brain, someone will come and clean up this mess..." Scott said. We all walked down a hall, me carrying Gengar and Ash supporting Lucario. We approached a metal door which opened up as we approached it, revealing the Frontier Brain.

"Well, if it isn't Ash Ketchum, oh and Dawn too."

"PALMER?" Ash exclaimed, stepping back. A man with spiky blonde hair and green eyes stepped forward.

"I see you brought a new friend as well," Palmer gestured towards me and Paul. "How are you doing Ash?"

"Great!" Ash said, adjusting Lucario's support, "This is my final Frontier Print, and I am ready to win it!" a smirk appeared on Scott and Palmer's face.

"What?" Ash asked. Scott just shook his head and Palmer rubbed his nose, removing the smirk from his face.

"Seriously... What's so funny?" Ash asked, looking back and forth from Palmer and Scott.

"Nothing..." Scott said.

"Anyways, ready to battle?" Palmer asked, Ash completely forgot the topic and began getting excited.

"Oh yes!" He said excitedly.

"But Ash..." Dawn began, "Two of your Pokémon can't battle, Lucario is too weak and Gengar is out..."

"This is a three on three battle," Palmer said.

"So I still have enough Pokémon, Pikachu, Totodile, and Gible." Ash said. Palmer nodded and walked to his place on the battle field, and Paul took the burden of Lucario. We all sat down on the bleachers, Gengar still knocked out in my arms.

"Alright Ash," Palmer said, "The challenge of this Frontier Facility is a bit different, you choose your Pokémon first, and you are not allowed substitution."

"So he's battling like a gym leader," Dawn said.

"Right..." Paul replied.

"Alright then..." Ash said "Pikachu, I choose you!"

"Pi-KA!" Pikachu exclaimed and he leapt on the field.

"I think you'll remember this Pokémon, Ash," Palmer said.

"Uh ho..." Dawn said.

"Rhyperior, Let's go!" Palmer shouted, sending out a huge Rock Ground type.

"Oh, that looks powerful," I said.

"Indeed, that one Pokémon alone crushed my entire team," Paul said.

"WHAT?" Dawn and I exclaimed together.

"It's a power house," Paul said.

"Alright Pikachu, Iron Tail!" Ash exclaimed. Pikachu dashed towards Rhyperior and leapt into the air, tail gleaming like metal.

"Grab it and slam it into the ground," Palmer said, Rhyperior grabbed Pikachu's tail and whirled him around, gaining momentum and slamming him into the ground.

"PIKA!" Pikachu exclaimed as he hit the ground, bouncing away.

"Pikachu! Are you okay?" Ash shouted, Pikachu slowly got up.

"Wow, Pikachu already been extremely weakened," Dawn said.

"Rock Polish!" Palmer said.

"Uh ho, Ash is in for it now..." Paul said.

"Mega Horn!" Palmer shouted.

"Try to dodge it!" Ash shouted. But Rhyperior was too fast, its horn hit Pikachu head on.

"Whoa!" Dawn exclaimed, "It became so fast!"

"That's what Rock Polish does, raises speed," Paul explained. Scott nodded.

"As you can see," Scott began, "Palmer likes to lead with Rhyperior, using Rock Polish to gain speed and take control of the battle, wiping out his opponents."

"PIKACHU!" Ash shouted. He ran onto the stage where his knocked out Pokémon was.

"Pikachu is down!" I exclaimed. Lucario growled and tried to get up, but we pulled him back down.

"Lucario, you are in no condition to fight!" I told him. He whimpered a little a glared at the ground.

"Totodile, I choose you!" Ash exclaimed, throwing his Pokéball out onto the field. His little water type happily came out before taking a battle stance.

"Let's try to finish this quickly! Hydro Pump!" Ash exclaimed. Totodile shot a power jet of water towards Rhyperior. But it jumped into the air, swiftly avoiding the attack.

"With Rock Polish, the Rhyperior will be too fast, he won't be able to defeat it," Paul said.

"Rock Wrecker!" Palmer Shouted.

"That Totodile's done for," Paul predicted. Rocks came out of Rhyperior's hands forming a large, glowing boulder, which he chucked it at Totodile. It hit the water type and shattered into a hundred pieces across the battle field.

"Ooh, that had to hurt!" Dawn exclaimed. The dust from the attack settled and revealed Totodile barely standing.

"Hmm, I'm impressed, your Totodile took the attack very well," Palmer said. "Mega Horn..." Rhyperior's horn began to glow and it slammed it into Totodile, knocking him out...

"No..." I said quietly. Dawn face drooped.

"Don't feel down just yet, Ash still has that Gible, and from what I remember, it completely dominated a whole Battle Facility," Scott said, recalling the epic battle where Dawn and I embarrassed each other on live television.

"That's right," Dawn said confidently, "Ash won't give up!"

Ash returned the KOed Totodile, and pulled out his last Pokéball, which of course held Gible.

"I'm not giving up just yet! Gible, I choose you!" Ash shouted letting out Gible, who appeared on the stage, glaring up at the Rhyperior.

"Alright Gible, let's take it out with Draco Meteor!" Ash shouted. Gible nodded and formed an orange ball in its mouth, which it shot into the air. It burst into fireworks, and fell everywhere, hitting the Rhyperior.

"Finally!" Dawn said excitedly, "Ash hit it!" Suddenly, Gengar's eyes shot open, and he began to lash out into the air.

"... Gen?" It asked looking around confused. It turned to the battle field and saw Ash and Gible fighting the Rhyperior. It leapt from my arms and raced to Ash side by the resting Pikachu.

"Gengar!" The ghost exclaimed confidently.

"That's right Gengar! We're gonna defeat this thing!" Ash said.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu said determinedly, cheering for Gible.

"They have so much confidence..." I said, "It's so inspiring..." Dawn and Scott grinned and nodded in agreement. Paul just sat there with his arms folded.

"Rock Wrecker!"

"Dragon Pulse!"

Both Pokémon formed their attacks and shot them at each other, the attacks collided with an explosion.

"Mega Horn!"

"Dig to dodge!"

Gible disappeared under the ground as Rhyperior attempted the him it with its horn.

"Mega Horn into the ground," Palmer said. Rhypior slammed his horn into the ground, causing it to erupt and reveal Gible.

"Mega Horn!"

"Brick Break!"

The two attacks collided. As strong as Gible was, it couldn't resist the raw power of the Rhyperior. It flew backwards and was embedded into the wall.

"Gible!" Ash exclaimed running over to where Gible was stuck, and with the help of Pikachu and Gengar, he pulled put the Dragon type.

"Gib... Gible..." Gible said, weakly smiling before falling into unconsciousness.

"You were great Gible, take a good long rest..." Ash said, returning the poor Pokémon.

"Pikachu..." Pikachu sighed sadly.

"Yeah, it's a bummer we lost, but hey, we'll do some training and take out Palmer in no time!" Ash exclaimed.

"That was a fun battle Ash," Palmer said as he approached the boy, "I haven't seen an opponent wipe out Rhyperior as much as you had..."

*THUD!*

We all turned and saw Rhyperior had fallen forward, completely exhausted.

"You'll be returning for another Battle right?" Palmer asked.

"You bet!" Ash said, seeming to be completely unfazed or depressed by his loss, "I'm going start training, and my Pokémon will be more powerful than ever!"

Palmer let out a laugh, "That's the spirit! Once you feel confident you can beat me, come on back..." Ash nodded before coming up the bleachers where we had been watching.

"Sorry about you're loss..." Dawn said.

"Eh, it's not my first; I've learned to get over it..." Ash said, "Isn't that right Pikachu?"

"Pi Pikachu pika pika!" Pikachu said.

"What are you talking about? Yes I have!" Ash exclaimed.

"Um, I don't mean to interrupt, but how do you intend to get Lucario down stairs without him puking again.

Palmer approached with a smile on his face, "You could use the stairs," He said, "Although your 94 storys up, it's kinda high..."

"Heh, have fun Ash..." Dawn said.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

We had been sitting in the lobby for twenty minutes before Ash came down the stairs with Lucario, both breathing heavily.

"Ugh, that was a training session in itself..." Ash said.

"And it will be like two training sessions going back up for your rematch," I teased.

"Yeah, remind me to win next time..." Ash huffed as he walked out of the building. We all walked back to the Pokémon Center. Ash, who was normally very talkative, was strangely quiet. He just walked ahead with Pikachu on his shoulder, not talking to his Pokémon, or anyone else.

"Ash, are you okay?" I asked, "You're strangely quiet..."

At first he didn't respond, I thought that maybe he hadn't heard me. But he finally spoke up and said, "Yeah, I'm fine..." gloomily.

Strange...

It was beginning to get dark; we all hurried to the Pokémon Center, hoping to reach it before it grew dark. But when we finally got there, Ash excused himself.

"Hey you guys... I'm gonna go take a walk... By myself..." Ash said. Pikachu looked at his trainer confused.

"Yeah, sorry Pikachu, but I need some time to myself," Ash said, handing Pikachu over to Dawn, before walking off, disappearing into the dark.

Dawn set Pikachu on the ground and said, "I'm gonna follow him..." she quietly disappeared in the dark. Paul watched her disappear before shaking his head and walking into the Pokémon Center. I looked at the Pokémon Center, back towards the path Ash and Dawn had gone down, and then at Ash's Pokémon.

"I... I'm so confused..." I said, "What's bugging Ash? He seemed to be fine about losing that battle..."

"Rrrrr," Lucario growled sadly.

"Pikachu..." Pikachu said.

"I mean... I would follow him as well, but it's too late now, I'd never find him," I said. With that we walked into the Pokémon Center, where we found Paul napping on the couch. Suddenly, my stomach growled. Paul's eyes snapped open and he looked over at me.

"Hungry?" He asked, I nodded. I didn't know how to act around Paul, he was different... Paul sighed and headed towards the cafeteria of the Pokémon Center, where we sat down at a table with Ash confused and melancholy Pokémon.

"I wonder what's bothering Ash..." I said quietly.

"Don't know, but Troublesome will find our soon enough..." Paul said. I looked up at him confused.

"'Troublesome'?" I asked.

Paul sighed, "That blue haired girl with the white beanie that followed Ketchum..."

"Dawn?" I asked.

"That's the one..." Paul said. I couldn't help but giggle, Dawn was very able to be troublesome at times, I would now that better than anyone at this point.

"Why don't you just call her by her name?" I asked, I was sure it wasn't a matter that he couldn't remember it.

"I don't know," Paul said, crossing his arms, his voice had no emotion at all.

"Can you not say 'Dawn'?" I asked. Paul snickered.

"Of course I can, I just don't want to..." He said, I looked at him and blinked a few times.

"Why?" I asked. The amused smirked on his face disappeared. He just looked at me.

"Why?" I repeated, Paul let out a deep long breath.

"Because..." he finally said, but I wasn't gonna let him off that easily.

"Say "Dawn'," I told him; he gave me a confused look.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because I want you to!" I told him, he raised a brow before sighing.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to."

"Why?"

"Because..."

"Because why?"

"What business of that is yours?" Paul asked, getting a bit agitated.

"Alright, let's start easy," I said, "Say my name..." I honestly didn't know if he remembered my name.

"May," he said without any effort.

Now we were getting somewhere,

"Say Ash's name," I said.

"Ash," He said, again with no effort.

"The frontier brain."

"Palmer."

"The owner of the Battle Frontier,"

"Scott."

"Annoying orange haired girl."

"Misty."

"How the heck can you remember that? You two where never introduced!" I said.

"I have these two useful things on the side of my head called 'ears'." Paul replied.

"Your name."

"Paul."

"Head of the Pokémon Center."

"Nurse Joy."

"Blue haired girl with a white beanie."

No reply.

"Well?" I asked.

"I can't," Paul said, I stood up and put both hands on the table, leaning over it.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to?"

"Why don't you want to?"

"Because."

"BECAUSE WHY?" I shouted, luckily the cafeteria was empty.

Paul sighed and looked at the ground, "I... I just can't..."

"Why?" I asked, leaning even more forward than I was before? "What is preventing you from said that name aloud?"

Paul looked me straight in the eye, piercing me with his glare. "You really want to know?" he asked. I leaned so far forward over the table, that my feet no longer touched the floor.

"Yes," was my answer.

Paul motioned for me to sit back down, I got off the table and sat down in my seat.

"It's this weird feeling..." Paul said, "I just... Don't want to say the name aloud, that's why I nicknamed her Troublesome, I couldn't say her full name and it fit."

"And... You have no idea why?" I asked, he looked at me for a minute.

"I..." he began, "I think I know what the problem is..." he muttered quietly.

"Do you think you can fix it?" I asked. He gazed out the window for a minute, before looking back at me.

"No." he answered.

"How come?" I asked. He let out a frustrated sigh.

"You ask a lot of questions," he muttered.

"Well, how else am I supposed to figure out what's going on?" I replied.

"Who said you could stick your nose in my business?" Paul asked, frustrated.

Uh...

"You should be thanking me for trying to help you," I said with a huff.

"That doesn't answer my question," Paul said. Ash's Pokémon just sat and listened to our conversation, heads moving back and forth as we spoke.

"Paul..." I said, "What is preventing you from fixing your problem?"

"How is not being able to say a name a problem?" He asked.

"That doesn't answer my question," I said.

"You have no room to talk!" Paul stated. I face-palmed, this guy was hard to get through. _That's it, I give up, Paul can fix his own problems, this whole conversion would have probably ended up fruitless. _I thought to myself.

"Fear..."

I looked out from behind my hand, Paul was looking at me, blank face and crossed arms.

"Fear?" I asked, "You can't fix you problem because of fear?"

Wow, I really do ask a lot of questions.

"Yes," Paul answered.

"What is there to be afraid of?" I asked.

...

"You wouldn't understand..." Paul said.

"I wouldn't understand!" I shouted, "You don't think I understand fear? I lashed out at Misty because of fear! I tried to make Dawn miserable because of fear! I don't jump off cliffs because of fear! I can't tell Ash Ketchum I think I'm in love with him because of fear!"

"I knew it," Paul said with a smirk, "it was so obvious..." I slammed my face into the table, a "Face-table" I supposed.

"That... That's not the point, Paul," I said, "Fear is something that keeps us from doing things, but it also makes us want to do thing. Because if we don't, it'll be... To... Late..." I said, still mentally kicking myself for admitting that secret to another person.

"Tell you what..." Paul said, "Let's make a deal. I'll go deal with my fear, but you have to deal with yours too." A smirk appeared on his face as a smile grew on mine.

"Deal." I stuck out my hand, and he shook it. Without another word, Paul got up and walked out of the Pokémon Center.

"Another good deed done," I said, satisfied, before my face dropped to worry, "But... I have to deal with my fear..."

I was suddenly hit with the realization that Paul never actually told me what the real problem was. Great, so how am I supposed to know if he actually deals with the fear? I asked myself, face-tabling again. Suddenly the front doors to the Pokémon Center opened, and Ash came walking in, his face written with guilt and sadness.

"Ash?" I asked, "What's wrong?" His Pokémon and I walked over to him, the eleven year old sat down on the couch, leaning forward, resting his arms on his knees, and his eyes were covered by his hat, which I had noticed he seemed to do when he was really unhappy. I sat down on the couch next to him, Pikachu jumped into his lap.

"May..." He began, "I can't believe what I just did..." a flash of thunder struck outside, and soon it began to rain.

"What happened?" I asked.

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback: Ash's POV<strong>

_"Hey you guys... I'm gonna go take a walk... By myself..." I said. Pikachu looked at me with a confused look on his face._

_"Yeah, sorry Pikachu, but I need some time to myself," I said, handing Pikachu over to Dawn before I walked off. I quietly strolled down the road for a second before turning and heading into the forest, frustration was building up inside me._

_I can't believe it, I could even beat one Pokémon with my three! I thought to myself. They have face some powerful opponents, why couldn't I guide them correctly during this battle? Why couldn't I win?  
><em>  
><em>I approached a running river, where I screamed out in frustration.<em>

_"NOT EVEN ONE!" I stomped the ground. I had managed to bottle up the horrible feeling building inside since I lost, putting on a fake smile and pretend I was fine. Why I was so upset? I had defeated legendary Pokémon before! Deoxys, Zapdos, Darkri, Latios, Regice, Articuno! Why could I not beat one Rhyperior with three Pokémon._

_"Maybe I wasn't supposed to be a Pokémon trainer!" I shouted angrily._

_"Ash?"_

_I looked up and turned around, "Dawn?" I said, sniffing, "I thought I told you I wanted some alone time..." Dawn stepped out and joined me by the bank of the river, where we both sat on the ground._

_"I couldn't do it, Dawn..." I said sadly. "I couldn't beat Palmer, I used all three of my Pokémon and barely was able to so much as dent his team... And I wasn't even up against a legendary!" Dawn gently put a reassuring hand on my shoulder._

_"I know what you're talking about," she said, "I feel the same frustration every time I lose a contest... That feeling that I'm not good enough and that I failed my Pokémon, unable to show their true potential..."_

_She had the bull's-eye on the target..._

_"But..." she continued, "but..."_

_I looked over at her; she was resting her head on her knees and was gazing out at the river._

_"But then I think about you..." she continued, "How you were there for me every step up of way, through thick and thin. You celebrated during all my wins and were always there to comfort me when I lost..." Dawn paused and took a deep breath, as if she was having a somewhat hard time trying to speak what she wanted to say._

_"I knew that even when you weren't physically by my side when I went through Hoenn..." Dawn said, "you sort of were there with me, inside me... In my heart..."_

_I couldn't see where she was going with this... I noticed a clap of thunder and lightning strike in the distance, Dawn didn't even look up._

_"Ash, you have held a special place in my heart, somewhere I don't know if I could imagine anyone else being in..." Dawn said, "I have the strangest feeling around you, it started off just as small as a tingle... But... Then it sparked... And erupted..." Dawn looked over at me._

_"Ash, I'm in love with you..." Dawn said._

_**WHAT?**_

_I was taken aback... **love?**_

_"Wait... Are you talking about like when Brock sees a girl..." I asked._

_"Yeah, but more serious and not as dramatic..." Dawn said. I looked out at the lake, listen to the occasional faint roar of thunder and bright flashes with appeared behind the trees in the other side of the river. I took in what Dawn said._

_I'm in love with you..._

_A girl... A girl... Loves me? I mean, I knew that she loved me like a friend, and I would definitely love her as a friend always..._

_But..._

_She was talking about a different love, that love to bring and husband and wife together... Like May and Max's parents... And inter-bond... A connection between the two... A love that I had never considered or ever thought of even bothering to want to think about possibly maybe looking into it in any sort of way..._

_Yet..._

_It... Had been biting at me... I think... If I was feeling it correctly... There was someone... That I wanted to have that special bond with... Even though that feeling was there, I couldn't tell who the feeling was aimed at, I didn't know, I couldn't understand the feeling yet. But there was one thing I knew now..._

_It wasn't Dawn...  
><em>  
><em>The fact she had downright confessed to my face made me realize, she wasn't the one... And now... I had to tell her...<em>

_I looked at her, she was still looking at me, awaiting an answer. I turned back to the lake..._

_"Dawn," I began," I... I can't return those feelings..."_

_Her face droopped,_

_"What?" She asked, her voice already sounding shaky._

_"I-I'm sorry Dawn... I really am... But I just can't..." I began, before she cut me off._

_"Don't waste your breath!" She said angrily, tears filling up her eyes, "Just get out of here!"_

_But I was here first! Oh wait not the time for that...I thought_

_"GO AWAY!" She managed to say before bursting into tears._

_"Dawn..." I began, but she just continued crying. The roar of thunder began to grow louder. I sadly sighed and stood up..._

_... And left her there..._

* * *

><p><strong>Present<strong>**: May's POV**

In a way, I was relieved, relieved that Dawn wasn't competition anymore... And yet... I felt bad for her... And Ash must have felt the same way; poor guy had quite a rough day. After he told me what had happened, he sat there silently, with me and his Pokémon. His eyes were watery and a tear ran down his cheek.

"I hope I didn't lose such a valuable friendship..." he said sadly.

"Pikaka..." Pikachu said sadly. I sat there and rubbed Ash's back, hoping to make him feel better.

"Ugh, I hope that doesn't ever happen again..." Ash said, "I don't know if I can bare this kind of drama again..."

_Gulp..._

But that meant that... I couldn't confess... For a very long time... I guess my deal with Paul would be put on hold.

"Hey, I saw Paul walking out of the Pokémon Center as I came in, where is he going..." Ash asked.

Oh no! He was going to find Dawn!

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

Tears streamed down my face as rain began to pour down, soaking my hair and cloths... But I didn't bother moving, I hated life, officially hated life, I felt shattered... Crushed... Rejected...

Even though Ash didn't want to hurt my feelings, but was bring honest, I was still upset. I should have been happy he didn't lie to me and turn everything into a mess.

And yet...

I hadn't expected for a second that he would ever turn me down like he did. I growled a frustration as tears rolled down my face. I hadn't cried for a long time.

"Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?" I exclaimed at the top of my lungs. I broke down again and buried my face in my hands as a wept.

"Troublesome?"

I stiffed... Peeking behind me I saw Paul, standing off in the distance.

"What do you want?" I asked, frustrated that he wouldn't leave me alone. I turned to face him waiting for his reply, his eyes widened as he saw my tear covered face.

"What happened to you?" He asked, walking up to me, I turned back to the river.

"I... I was rejected..." I said sadly, before bursting into yet another crying fit. Paul put a hand on my wet shoulder.

What? Paul touched me? Paul never touches anyone...

"What happened D-..." Paul began, swallowing; he appeared to be trying to say something. His mouth was open, trying to form a word.

"D..."

...

"What happened... D... Dawn?" he finally said. My eyes widened, he had never called me by my name before.

"Well..." I said, sniffing, "Ash... Rejected me..."

Paul tilted his head, confused, "You mean, like... Turned down?" Paul asked, I couldn't seem to speak, or find my voice, so I nodded. Paul gazed out at the river, getting soaked in the rain.

"Listen... Your friend May, made this deal with me... So... I have something I need to tell you..." Paul began, sounding rather nervous.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

Ash stood up from the couch, stretching, but still sad.

"I think I'm going to head to bed..." Ash said, Pikachu let out a loud yawn as well.

"Mmm, bed sounds nice right now..." I agreed. We walked back to the room with two bunk beds, I kicked off my shoes and climbed up to the top bunk of one of the beds, Ash crawled onto the top bunk of the other bed with Gengar, Lucario, and Pikachu.

"Hey May..." Ash began.

"Yeah Ash."

"Do you think Dawn will forgive me?" he asked as he stared at the ceiling. I didn't answer at first, I assumed Dawn would.

"Yeah, of course she will," I said confidently. Ash smiled sadly before pulling the covers over himself and his Pokémon.

"Well, Goodnight," I said.

"Good night," Ash replied.

"Chu pipika ChuchuPi."

"Gen Gengar Gen."

"Rmm hmm."

I couldn't help but smile in spite of myself.

* * *

><p><strong>Alright, so this was a bit of a melancholy chapter, but I am excited about what I have planned for the future, so stay tune!<strong>

**Oh, and that whole Paul saying Dawn's name thing, I don't know if any of you guys ever felt like that, but I know I have, there have been time were I struggle to say someone's name, it's rather sad.**

**Thanks again for reading and reviewing (if you do that is) you guys are all awesome (and don't let anyone tell you otherwise) lol and thanks for putting up with me throughout this fic.**

**First person to notice the obvious Easter Egg in this chapter doesn't win anything…**

**Until next time...**

**No YouTube reference this chapter...**


	19. Chapter 19: Fiercer All Over Again

**Chapter 19: Fiercer than a Legendary… Again**

* * *

><p><strong>So as I typed parts of this chapter thoughts went through my head like "Paragraph complete: manliness level has decreased by two percent, current manliness level: four thousand three hundred and twenty one... Below zero..."<strong>

***Sigh* Good thing you awesome people who read this are worth it. Hehe, I guess I get a little humbling experiences. Take my severely high pride down a few notches. No? Ah weewee.**

**Oh before I forget, I have no intentions of bringing back characters like Misty and Drew (at least not in this story) those shippings Involving them will not be seen nor pursued inside this story. Oh and those who may be wonder about Drew and Lyra, I just picked her because she seemed similar to May, I don't want to start a revolution of LyraxDrew people. Kk? Good.**

**And after my overly long Author Note, I get to brag that I don't own Pokémon.**

**Read and be Happy.**

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

"Listen D... Dawn," Paul said. He watched the river flow for a moment.

"I have... This weird feeling inside me," He said, I wiped my face from any remaining tears I still had, not that it mattered, my face was drenched from the rain.

"And, it's prevented me from calling you by your real name..." he still had his serious, emotionless voice, but unlike any other time I had talked with Paul, I actually was interested in what he had to say.

"What is the feeling?" I asked.

Paul gazed at the clouds and watched the occasional flash of lightning, before finally answering, "I don't know..."

I sweat-dropped, _oh yeah, that helped a lot..._

I shivered and rubbed my arms, rain was beginning to make me cold. Paul glanced at me as I rubbed my arms trying to heat them up.

"Here..." He said, unzipping his jacket and giving it to me.

"Oh, what a gentleman," I said, draping the jacket over my shoulders. Paul just rolled his eyes before standing up.

"Let's head back to the Pokémon Center, I don't need you to get sick, or you'd make me carry you," Paul said.

"Would not!" I exclaimed. _Although, the idea didn't seem too bad._

We made our way out of the woods without a word and began to walk towards the Pokémon Center. As we walked, I thought about what Paul had told me, and how he given me his jacket. And it got me thinking...

"Paul..." I began, "When you try to say my name... How does your heart feel..."

Although I was never particularly sure Paul actually had a heart.

"It... Speeds up..." Paul said, I looked at him as we walked down the muddy road. "And my face heats up and my body gets a little shaky."

"What does that mean to you?" I asked, beginning to form an assumption.

"I don't know, that's why I asked you," Paul said, stopping in front of the Pokémon Center, my mind was reeling with thoughts_. Could it be?_My heart began to pump faster, my palms got sweaty, and my face began to heat up. Paul sighed and began to walk into the Pokémon Center I reached out and grabbed his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

"Paul..." I said quietly, he turned to face me, a raising a brow.

"hm?-MPH?" I pulled him close and kissed him quickly before pulling away.

"Anything?" I asked.

He stood there for a minute, transfixed.

"Was that a-?" He began to ask. Geez, this guy was just as dense as Ash.

"YES?" I shouted, "Now are you gonna go with it or will you reject me too?" he was a bit taken aback by my outburst, blinking a few times. I sat there and waited for his answer, dreading some sour remark.

"That was..." Paul said slowly, "Kinda nice..." the smallest smile I had ever seen crept upon his face. I took a step closer, inches away from him.

"You're in my personal bubble..." Paul said. I sweat-dropped at his density and moved away some of the wet hair sticking to his face. I leaned forward and pecked him on the lips.

We both walked into the Pokémon Center and into our room, were we found Ash and May fast asleep. I crept over to the top bunk were Ash was asleep, where he seemed to be having a bad dream.

I grabbed his hand and whispered "No hard feelings Ash, I understand..." His face lightened a bit and he seemed to calm down, as if the dream had disappeared.

I slipped into the bathroom were Paul was drying himself off; I found a towel and wordlessly dried my body, avoiding my hair in hopes not to mess it all up. Paul got into his bed as I did the same, trying to be as quiet as possible. I laid there for a couple minutes, before I began to shiver again. I hadn't dried my hair, which made the all ready cold air-conditioned room colder.

"Paul..." I whispered.

"Hm..." he groaned.

"I'm cold..." I said, shivering again.

"Well maybe you should have dried your hair," he replied.

"Are you crazy? It would be a mess..." I told him.

"I guess that it's your problem then..." Paul said. I laid there for a little while longer, still cold and shivering.

"Can I sleep with you?" I suddenly said, Paul rolled over and gave me a strange look.

"I'm cold..." I told him again, "And the body heat could keep me warm..." He blinked a few time, before grunting and nodding. I got out of my bed and crept into his, we both turned our backs to each other.

"Just don't get me sick..." Paul said before finally falling asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

I laid in the middle of a burning city, Ash was knocked out on the ground a few yards away. A large flaming beast dashed around seeming to avoid explosions.

What was going on? This is chaos! Ash groaned and slowly got to his feet. He pulled out a Pokéball, ready to throw it when another explosion erupted between us, knocking us backwards and off our feet, just before I hit the ground...

... I woke up...

I found myself laying in my bunk bed. I looked around and saw Ash still sleeping with his Pokémon, Gengar comically sprawled out across his face, fast asleep. I peaked over my bed and saw...

_Holy..._

Dawn and Paul where sleeping in the bunk bed under Ash. Paul's back was to Dawn, who seemed to have snuggled into his back.

...

_Well, there you have it,_ I thought to myself, _Paul must have solved his problem._ I crept out of my bed and watched them sleeping peacefully. _I wonder what Ash will think,_I thought. Suddenly, Paul began to stir, he slowly rolled to his other side, stopping before he rolled over Dawn, he opened an eye and glance at me. He quickly sat up and looked at me, and then at Dawn.

"I swear it's not what you think..." He said, climbing over Dawn and getting out of bed, brushing himself off. I just looked at him with my mouth a jar.

"Don't tell Ash..." He said before walking into the bathroom. I looked back over at Dawn, who also began to stir. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at me, taking notice of the huge smirk on my face.

"Oh gosh..." she said. Quickly getting out of the bed, "I swear it's not what you think..." Dawn said, I let out a quiet laugh.

"So you turned to Paul, Eh?" I asked, "Desperate?" Dawn let out a huff, crossing her arms and pouting.

"No! I just..." she began.

"Just?"

"I don't know..." Dawn sighed in defeat. "I'll tell you when I figure it out..." I smiled and gazed at the ground.

"So..."

"Yeah, you can have Ash," Dawn said, reading my thoughts "But you treat him right, or you'll answer to my fists..." Dawn said playfully, before thinking for a moment, "Or I could just send Paul after you..."

I let out a laugh, "He's probably too chicken to hit a girl..." suddenly; I felt something fall on my head.

"Ah!" I screamed, Dawn let out a laugh.

"It's just Gengar..." Dawn assured me.

"Gen!" the purple Pokémon said cheerfully. I reach up and took him off my head, holding him out in front of me, his big grin showing as much as ever.

"G'Morning sunshine..." I said with a smile. Gengar wriggled out of my grip, floated back up to Ash's bed, out of sight.

"GEN-GAR!" I heard him sing cheerfully.

...

"GENGAAARRRR!" he sung again.

"Piiii pika pika..."

"Gen!"

"Pika Pikachu?"

"Geeeeeengarrrr..."

"Pikachu!"

...

"PikaCHUUUUUU!" sparked flew everywhere and Ash also fell out of his bunk bed, falling to the floor with a loud thud.

"Ugh... How many times have I told you not to do that?" he asked wearily. Pikachu and Gengar weren't paying much attention though; they were laughing their heads off on the top bunk. I gave Ash a hand, helping him up. He looked over at Dawn with an apologetic look on his face.

"I'm really sorry about what happened last night Dawn..." He said. Dawn smiled and nodded.

"It's okay, I got over it," Dawn said, sticking her hand out "Friends?"

Ash pulled Dawn into a rather unsuspected hug, rather than a handshake, he seem quite relieved that Dawn wasn't upset anymore.

Even though he didn't know why...

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

I decided to take a walk around Blackthorn City for some fresh air and to stretch my legs. And as I walked, I noticed a big poster advertising a contest that was going to be held tomorrow. My jaw dropped and I raced to the Pokémon Center finding Dawn and her Pokémon playing around in the lobby while also trying to convince Paul, who was sitting on the sofa, to join them.

"Dawn!" I exclaimed, "There's gonna be a contest tomorrow!" Dawn's eyes widened and she quickly returned her Pokémon. Together, we dashed out of the Pokémon Center and towards the contest hall.

"Maybe it'll be another double battle!" Dawn said as we ran down the road.

"Yeah! We can both get our final ribbons!" I said, I could already imagine the Grand Festival. The Contest Hall quickly came into view and we dashed through the large, glass double doors. We stopped momentarily to catch our breaths before approached the desks to enter the contest.

"Excuse me..." I began, the lady at the desk looked up from the magazine she was reading, "Is it too late to sign in?" The woman at the desk smiled kindly, shook her head, and pulled out a clipboard with a paper on it.

"By the way..." Dawn began, "Is this a tag battle contest?" The woman went through a few papers, checking to see if it was.

"Sorry, but not this time," the woman said, Dawn sighed and my shoulders slumped, but I grabbed the pen and sighed my name on the paper and gave the woman my Pokédex, Dawn did the same.

The woman smiled again and gave us back our Pokédex, and as we turned to leave, she said, "Keep in mind, this is the last Contest before the Grand Festival, so if you don't win your fifth ribbon in this contest, you can't compete on the Grand Festival."

Dawn and I both stopped dead in our tracks, and slowly looked at each other.

"How many ribbons do you have May?" She asked.

"Four..." I said beginning to sound worried "What about you?"

"Only four..." She said

_This is bad..._

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

May and Dawn were back to the same old stuff all over again, they were standing in the lobby, arguing about the next contest, which apparently was the last one before the Grand Festival.

"I've been doing this far longer than you! I should get the ribbon!" May shouted.

"My Pokémon have worked too hard not to be part of the Grand Festival!" Dawn protested.

"Would both of you shut up!" Paul exclaimed, holding his hands over his ears, "Your loud squeaky girl voices at driving me crazy!" Dawn put her hands on her hips and pouted at Paul.

"You guys are getting loud..." I told them, they looked around and noticed that people were staring at them; they blushed with embarrassment and sat down on the couches. Dawn sitting down by Paul and May opposite of them, the two seemed to be having a glaring contest.

"Just when we thought they were BFFs..." I whispered to Pikachu, who nodded. Paul got up from the couch and walked over me still watching the two girls glare at each other.

"Are they always like this?" he asked, I shook my head.

"They used to be, but they fixed everything out and became friends, but it looks like this final contest has shaken their rivalry back up." I told him.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go train..." Dawn said, she had quite an attitude in her voice.

"I think I will as well!" May said with equal attitude, Paul, Pikachu, and I sweat-dropped in union.

"Hey, Paul, keep an eye on May and make sure she doesn't do anything rash, I'll go watch Dawn," I was about to walk away when Paul stopped me.

"I'll go watch Dawn, you watch May..." He said, and with that, he left. Pikachu and I exchanged glances before also leaving the Pokémon Center with Gengar and Lucario.

We found May training rather vigorously with her Pokémon, they all looked really tired.

"Come on! Keep going!" May told them, but it wasn't her normal cheerful voice, it sounded rather frustrated.

"May!" I called out, running towards her, she looked over at me.

"Ash? What are you doing here?" May asked.

"I came to watch you train..." I told her, stopping in front of her, I looked over at her Pokémon and back at her, "May, don't you think you are over working your Pokémon a little?" I asked.

"No," was all May said, my eyes widened with surprise.

"Look at them, they look like they're ready to fall over..." I told her, she glanced at them before casually looking back at me.

"I can train them however I want to," she said, I looked at her in disbelief, May wasn't acting like herself, I put my hand on her shoulders, hoping to snap her out of whatever is was she was in.

"Don't touch me!" She snapped thrusting her arm and removing my hand from her shoulder.

"May, what's going on?" I asked her, she just turned around and began to walk away. "May!"

"Just go away Ash!"

"May, what's going on?"

"Nothing!"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing!"

I grabbed her by her shoulders and spun her around, "Then why are you acting like this?" I asked. Her serious, frustrated face melted into a sad one, she sunk down to her knees, expression not changing. I knelt down beside her, still laying a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm afraid..." May said, she looked at me with sad eyes.

"How come?" I asked, May took a deep breath and gazed at the ground.

"I didn't win the Wallace Cup..." She said, "I lost to Dawn..." she sniffed "And now... I feel this pressure... This fear that I'll lose to her again tomorrow... And then... And then I won't be able to compete in the Grand Festival..." she leaned forward and hugged me.

"I'm so nervous, Ash... What am I going to do?" She asked, not letting go, I thought for a minute before the answer became obvious to me.

"You just have to believe in your Pokémon..." I told her, "... and you'll be unstoppable..." she let go of she and leaned back, a sad smile on her face as she wiped her eyes.

"You're right; faith is the ultimate weapon... I just have to believe in my Pokémon..." She said, "Why couldn't I see that before?" she stood up and grabbed all of her Pokémon's Pokéballs, returning them and apologizing for training them so hard.

"Now..." I said, "Let's go get some Ice cream of something... I'm starving..."

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

"Alright you guys, we've beat May before, we can do it again!" I told my Pokémon, "This is our last chance to get into the Johto Grand Festival, and we are going to make it!" My all Pokémon cheered after my pep-talk.

"It doesn't look like your training..." I turned and saw Paul walk up to me.

"Well they need to get hyped up before they begin, right guys!" I got another cheer from my Pokémon.

"Do you really think you're ready for this?" Paul asked, I nodded confidently. "What battle strategies have you come up with?" he asked.

...

A smirk appeared on Paul's face, "Uh..." I tried thinking of something, hoping not to embarrass myself, but I gave up and sweat-dropped.

"I've got nothing..." I told him, Paul scanned over my team.

"What Pokémon does May use?" Paul asked, I thought for a minute.

"Well, she has several Pokémon, but lately she has been using a Bayleaf she recently caught, her starter Blaziken, and occasionally Ash's Gengar." I told him, he thought for a moment.

"Do you have any ideas?" I asked him, waiting patiently for a response.

"I can't think of anything at the moment..." Paul said, I huffed and crossed my arms.

"Come on, I've seen you battle, you're a master when it come to battle strategies." I told him.

"Yes, but those can take time to developed..." he said, "I can't help y-"

Paul was cut off as I almost knocked him over by jumped forward and hugging him, pecking him on the lips.

"Okay, you convinced me..." he said.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"Pikachu, just because the ice cream is red doesn't mean it's ketchup flavored," Ash told Pikachu as the electric type anxiously pointed towards the strawberry ice cream, I giggled at the Pokémon's ignorance.

"Pika Pikachu Pika Pika..." Pikachu said to Ash, whose face twisted into disgust.

"Okay, I'll take a bowl of the strawberry ice cream... With... Ketchup on top..." the lady at the bar made an odd face, but nodded none the less.

"I'll take vanilla, Gengar will take any ice cream that's purple, and Lucario will have chocolate." Ash said, making his order. I thought it was funny how most of his Pokémon picked the ice cream because of its color, rather than the flavor. Ash sat down at the table with his ice cream and his Pokémon, he gave Pikachu the ketchup covered ice cream, which the rodent began to lick away at.

"So Ash," I began, "Are you going to start training for your next battle with Palmer?" Ash stuffed some ice cream in his mouth and gulped it down before answering.

"Yeah, I'm going to use the same team I used last time, kind of a get revenge thing, but in much friendlier terms," Ash said, I nodded with understanding.

"GGGEeEeEnNGAAAAR!"

We both turned and saw Gengar flying around the ice cream parlor like a maniac, holding his head. Eventually, he floated back to our table and flopped his face down on the table.

"See, that's what happens when you eat ice cream too fast, you get a brain freeze..." Ash said.

"Gaaaaarrr..." the shadow Pokémon moaned through the table. I looked over at Lucario, who had ice cream all over his face; he didn't seem to have used his spoon, which laid untouched on the table. I laughed and grabbed a napkin, leaning over and wiping his messy face.

"Pikachu, I brought you here for ice cream, not ketchup..." Ash said, I turned and saw that Pikachu had licked all the ketchup off the ice cream, but now refused to eat the ice cream.

"Pika Pikachu..." Pikachu said, folding his arms.

"But I think I saw the ice cream woman hide some ketchup under the ice cream..." I told Pikachu. His eyes widened and ears perked up.

"Yeah, so you should better eat your ice cream," I told him, winking at Ash, who smirked at my trick. Pikachu didn't exactly react the way I expected. Instead of eating the ice cream, he got his hands dirty and began digging through it.

Ash began laughing and slammed his fist into the table, unable to control his laughter. Suddenly, Pikachu realized that he had been tricked, and his cheeks began to spark.

"Pikachu..." Ash began, "... don't get any ideas..." Pikachu glared at us before charging up electricity.

"Let's run..." Ash suggested.

"Let's," I agreed, we, along with Gengar and Lucario, dashed out of the parlor as sparks began to fly. We all ran down the road as the angry Pikachu tried to hit us. Even though Ash was running away, he was still laughing, and as I ran, I couldn't help but laugh myself, but Pikachu managed to zap my heel, suddenly stopping me in my tracks.

"May?" Ash asked, I leaned down and rubbed the heel, Ash, Lucario, and Gible all walked over, completely forgetting about Pikachu.

"What happened?" Ash asked as I rubbed my heel.

"Pikachu hit it, and now I can't seem to feel it..." I said, Pikachu stopped running and approached me, an apologetic look on his face.

"Can you walk?" Ash asked. I tried taking a step before squealing in pain. A sharp pain jabbed through my heel.

"Ouch! I don't think so..." I said. Ash wordlessly slung my arm around his shoulders.

"Okay, let's just take this slowly, don't put any weight on the hurt heel," He said.

"You don't have to tell me twice," I told him. Slowly but surely, we made our way back to the Pokémon Center, where we entered into the lobby and flopped down on the couches.

"Pika Pikachu pika, ChuchuPi," Pikachu said apologetically, rubbing his head on my arm, I smiled and rubbed his head.

"I forgive you; it was my fault, I shouldn't have tricked you..." I told him, he smiled at me before hopping over to Ash, who was breathing heavily after helping me back to the Pokémon Center.

"Will you be still be able to compete in the contest tomorrow?" Ash asked, I shrugged.

"I don't know, I hope so..." I said, beginning to get worried. Ash could tell I was starting to get worry and put on a confident grin.

"I'm sure you'll be fine," he said, I took a deep breath and gazed at the ground.

"I hope so..." I said.

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

"Whoa, that's a great idea!" I exclaimed "I knew you could come up with something..." After a bit of thinking, Paul had developed a strategy and showed us some good combinations to use, all which were all very impressive. Now we both lay sprawled out on the soft green grass with my Pokémon. Paul only grunted in response to my compliment, I rolled to my side so I faced him, resting my head on my arm.

"You don't talk much..." I told him.

He grunted in response.

"See what I mean? You don't use many words..." I said, he looked at me, before letting out an understanding grunt.

"Is it just that you don't like to talk?" I asked him, he grunted again, as if saying "no".

"Would you say something!" I exclaimed, finally getting irked, "I know that you know English Paul!" a smirk grew on Paul's face.

"Your reactions are so satisfying..." he said, I blinked, wondering if that was a complement or not. "Well, maybe that's part of why I like you..." he said.

I let out a sigh, still looking at him, unsure how to really reply, "Let's go back to the Pokémon center," I suggested. I got up and returned my Pokémon as Paul brushed himself off. With that, we headed back to the Pokémon Center.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

With Ash's help yet again, we made it to the bedroom where we sat down on the floor, thankfully I was beginning to regain feeling in my foot again. Pikachu and Gengar were chasing each other around while Lucario sat down by Ash.

"So, who are you going to use for the contest?" Ash asked, I put my finger on my chin, tapping it a few times.

"I don't know yet, maybe I'll sleep on it..." I said, looking up at my bunk bed.

"Well hopefully your heel will heal, so that Paul and I don't have to lift you up tonight," Ash said, making us both laugh.

"Come on, I got up on your shoulders to pick berries a while ago, I'm not that heavy..." I said.

"Except that I dropped you..." Ash said with a sigh.

I weakly smiled, "Yes, but that wasn't your fault..." I told him, he sighed again and nodded, smiling a little bit.

"You know I've felt guilty about that to this day?" I told me, I laughed, I thought back to that one night, I was standing on Ash's shoulders, picking berries from trees, but Dawn startled him and caused him to drop me.

"That seems like it was so long ago..." I said, he nodded.

"Yeah, it does feel like a long time ago..." he agreed. Suddenly Paul and Dawn stepped into the room.

"What are you two doing on the floor?" Paul asked.

"May hurt here heal, so we're just relaxing down here," Ash said.

"What was she doing? Tripping over herself?" Dawn asked.

Ugh, I thought, if my heal didn't hurt that girl would be dead...

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry Ghost for Linkin Park, I'll make something twinleafshipping sometime…<strong>

**Anyways If you guys saw the typos before the edited and re-edited versions of this, you'd be laughing your heads off, as the people who read the authors notes know, I typed this whole things on the notes application from my iPod Touch, meaning I must suffer and cooperate with the dreadful thing we call "autocorrect" and like some of the bad text messages you see because of auto correct, there is some prexy funky things in here. (see what I mean? God, Apple is freaking retarded,)**

**But I'm sad that Steve Jobs died. :(**

**R.I.P. Mr. Jobs...**

**Until next time...**

**I'm TheShinyGengar, and I approve this message.****  
><strong>


	20. Chapter 20: Brunette vs Blunette

**Chapter 20: Brunette vs. Blunette**

* * *

><p><strong>This will be a battle chapter. Consisting of May and Dawn's ultimate contest battle to see who will be going to the Grand Festival, as well as another side thing which I won't spoil for you guys.<strong>

**I amazes me how much I can write when I literally have nothing to do. I was stuck in my house while it rained outside, and that's the day I wrote most of this, it's insane.**

**Twenty chapters, and over 100K words, wow, I never expected this story to be so long, and we still have so much to cover! When will this end? Lol, I'm ready to start writing something else, but I'm gonna finish this story first.**

**Oh! And guess what! Big news everyone! I still don't own Pokémon.**

**Read and be Happy!**

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

Today was the big day, the final contest, and boy was I nervous. My heel was feeling better, but I occasionally felt a sharp zap that hurt enough to make me wince.

I was in the dressing room, getting ready for the contest with my Pokémon. I knew that none of the coordinators aside from Dawn was really going to be threatening. I looked at my Pokémon who appeared to be stretching and warming up for the contest.

I still hadn't fully decided who I wanted to use for the final battle with Dawn. I sighed and continued to comb my hair, praying that I would win the ribbon. I couldn't afford to lose, I had to win this contest, or no Grand Festival for me, and this whole trip would have been a waste. I was beginning to think I should have gone to Sinnoh and battled my real rivals over there. But no, I decided to go with Ash, and that annoying blue haired girl.

_But Ash is worth it,_I thought to myself. I took a deep breath and looked at my Pokémon.

"Are you guys ready?" I asked them, they all cheered, making me feel a little better.

"Would all coordinators get ready for the appeal round?" I heard over the speakers, I took a deep breath, trying to relax. I returned my Pokémon and stepped out into the area the coordinators stayed during the contest.

I wasn't worried about the appeals; I knew I could easily make it through those. Even battling other trainers I knew I could deal with.

It was Dawn I was worried about. Somehow, despite all my experience in Kanto, Hoenn, and Johto, I couldn't beat her during the Wallace Cup in Sinnoh. She was just starting off back then, she barely had any ribbons.

But she beat me.

And after I left, she continued to win contest, and even got runner up in the Grand Festival on her first try.

Her first try!

I only made it into the top 8 on my first try, it took me three whopping Grand Festivals to finally reach runner up. She reached my level far quicker than I thought possible. Why? Was it because her mother became a top coordinator?

"Thank you, Dawn, for that excellent appeal!" I heard, I looked up at the screen and saw Dawn had gotten a score of 9.4 for appeals. I continued in my thoughts.

Was it because I wasn't into Pokémon coordinating at first, While she had been dreaming of it all of her life? Was the competition weaker in Sinnoh? Maybe Ash's experience with me better at helping Dawn train for contests…

Or was Dawn just better?

"Ouch!" I exclaimed as I felt the sharp pain in my heel. I bent over and rubbed it.

"Well did you see my appeal?"

I looked up and saw Dawn standing over me with her hands on her hips, a proud look on her face.

"No," I said flatly, continued to rub my heel.

"Well it's good to watch the appeals and study your opponents..." Dawn said in a matter-of-fact tone. I couldn't say I really cared, I had seen her battle first hand in the Wallace Cup.

"Would May come out to the stage for her appeals..." The announcer asked. I stood up and limped to the stage, my heel still hurt a little from the last episode of pain.

I stepped out onto the stage blinded by the lights at first, but I eyes adjusted as I heard the excited roar of the crowd.

"Glaceon! Take the stage!" I shouted, throwing out a Pokéball. My ice type came out happily.

"Okay, use Shadow Ball!" I exclaimed. Glaceon loyally charged up a large Shadow Ball, shooting it into the air and waiting for my next command. "Okay, Ice Beam on the Shadow Ball!" Glaceon shot a bright beam of ice towards the Shadow Ball, encasing it in ice.

"Time to break it! Jump up and use Iron Tail on it!" I shouted, Glaceon, leapt into the air with a glowing tail, and hit the Icy Shadow Ball as hard as she could.

The results were not what I expected. Instead of the sparkling ball shattering, it actually bounced away from Glaceon.

"Use Quick Attack to catch up with it, and use Iron Tail again!" I said. Glaceon dashed across the stage as quick as lightning, leaping into the air and hitting it with Iron Tail again, but it simply bounced away again.

_The ball won't break!_I thought, "Again!" I shouted, Glaceon nodded and shot across the stage again, and hit the ball, still not breaking it.

"Again!"

***Wham!***

"Again!"

***Wham!***

"Again!"

***Wham!***

"It's like Glaceon is playing a game of Ping-Pong with herself! Amazing!" The announcer said.

"Again!"

***Wham!***

"Again!"

***BOOM!***

The Shadowy Ice Ball blew up into shatters of sparkling purple and shards of ice. The effects were like fireworks.

"And to finish it off, May and Glaceon give us the sparkly combination of eerie purple and crystal clear ice!" The announcer said, "Let's hear what the judges have to say!"

"The idea of hitting the ice ball around was new and fresh!"

"Remarkable!"

"Not like anything I have ever seen!"

Glaceon came back to me, panting heavily from chasing the ball around, I looked up at the score board and saw that I had gotten a 9.8! _Better than Dawn!_I thought as I crouched down next to Glaceon, gently stroking her cool fur.

"Great Job," I told her.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

"Wow! Both Dawn and May's appeals were great!" I said. Paul grunted in response.

"Rrm?" Lucario's ears perked up, and his eyes widened. I looked over at him.

"Lucario, what is it?" Lucario looked around before jumping up and dashing away.

"Lucario, wait!" I shouted, "Excuse me, pardon me, sorry, sorry, coming through..." I said as I passed people sitting in the bleachers. I then dashed out of the auditorium. I ran out of the Contest Hall and saw Lucario standing a few yards away, looking off to the same mountain we saw Entei on a few days ago, I followed his gaze and saw Entei standing there yet again.

"I wonder what he's doing," I said, suddenly the wind began to stir up like crazy and I heard the whirl of a helicopter. I turned around and saw a black helicopter with a red R on it.

"Team Rocket?" I exclaimed, I looked back at the mountain and noticed that Entei had disappeared.

"Rrrrrrr..." Lucario growled.

"Let's go after them!" I said, together, we dashed down the road, following the helicopter, which seemed to be heading in the direction we had seen Entei.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

_This is it..._

We had easily wiped aside our other opponents, now we both stood on either side of the battle field, ready for the battle that would determine who would proudly be marching to the Grand Festival. We glared at each other, waiting for the announcer to tell us to call out our Pokémon. I had noticed that Ash wasn't in the crowd with Paul anymore, he and Lucario were both gone. Why? I didn't know, but that wasn't important at the moment.

Thinking back, I realized I never directly battled Dawn at any point in time through Johto, we both managed to get four ribbons without battling each other, whether it was because of a prank or teaming up.

But now it came down to this...

I clamped my eyes shut "I won't lose..." I whispered quietly, slowly grabbing my Pokéball.

My plan? Completely throw her off guard, pick a Pokémon she wouldn't ever have thought I'd pick.

"Alright coordinators! There are five minutes on the clock! Begin!" The MC exclaimed.

"Skitty! Take the stage!" I shouted, tossing my Pokéball into the air, my little cat like Pokémon came out.

"Nyaa!" She exclaimed as she came out, Dawn's jaw dropped, completely baffled by my pick.

The exact reaction I wanted.

"Buneary! Spotlight!" Dawn exclaimed, throwing her Pokéball into the air.

_A Normal type against a Normal type, this should be interesting_... I thought.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

Lucario and I raced up the mountain, already feeling the ground rumble from something going on ahead.

"Let's hurry!" I said, Lucario and I picked up our pace as the hill seemed to flatten. We ran along the edge of a cliff hoping that we would make it in time.

"You're not getting away too easily!"

We ran through some bushes and found Entei facing off with some grunts from Team Rocket.

"We already caught your two other pals! There is no chance of escape!" One of the grunts said. Once again, they had a Crobat who was preventing Entei from escaping with Mean Look.

"I know Entei attacked us awhile ago..." I told Lucario, "But we have to help it!"

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"Blizzard!"

"Ice Beam!"

The two attacks collided with enough force to shake the building, leaving a big chunk of ice in the center of the field.

They say that Pokémon reflect the feelings of their trainers, whether in happiness, sadness, fear, excitement...

... Or anger...

I could tell Skitty was determined to win, anger literally emitting from her, and Buneary was no different, the two attacked each other with such force it was actually rather frightening. I had never seen Skitty so determined. Typically she was giddy and happy from the moment she was released from her Pokéball. But now, she so into this battle, feeling the same rage towards Buneary as I had been feeling towards Dawn lately.

"Skitty, Double Slap on that ice!" I shouted, Skitty leapt forward and slapped the ice chunk sending it flying into Buneary.

"Buuuunaaaeeeerrry!" Buneary shouted as she was knocked by from the collision.

"Outstanding! May used that block of ice created by Blizzard and Ice Beam and sent it hurtling at Buneary, dealing some decent damage!" the MC exclaimed.

"Alright!" I shouted happily.

Dawn glared at me angrily "Buneary use Bounce!" Dawn exclaimed. Buneary leapt into the air and flipped gracefully several times.

"Get ready to dodge Skitty!" I told my Pokémon, who prepare to jump out of the way.

...

"Now!" I exclaimed. Skitty obeyed and quickly dashed at out the range of Buneary's Bounce attack.

"Ice Beam!" Dawn exclaimed, Buneary turned around and hit Skitty in the back with the ice attack.

"NYAAAAA!" Skitty exclaimed, rolling over to get back on her feet.

"Let's try Assist!" I shouted, hoping to get a good attack. Skitty's paw began to glow as she formed an orb in her hands.

"Come on, come on, come on..." I said, the attack was Silver Wind, it hit Buneary sending her flying backwards again.

"Now use Tackle!" I exclaimed. Skitty dashed forward towards Buneary.

"Use Bounce!" Dawn exclaimed. Buneary leapt back to her feet before rocketing into the air.

"Look out Skitty!" I shouted, but it was too late, Buneary hit Skitty, brutally slamming her into the ground, I winced at the sight of poor little Skitty getting hurt like that. Buneary jumped away and Skitty rose to her feet.

I realized that I hadn't been paying attention to the points, no time for that though...

"Tackle again!" I exclaimed, Skitty once again bravely dashed towards Buneary.

"Dizzy Punch!" Dawn exclaimed. Buneary ran at Skitty, her fist beginning to glow.

"Jump in the air and use Double Slap!" I exclaimed. Skitty jumped into the air, swiftly dodging Buneary's Dizzy Punch and flipping in mid-air, slapping the rabbit like Pokémon across the face with her tail.

"Bun!" Buneary exclaimed, as she was thrown to the side, sliding on the ground.

"Alright Buneary! Time to use that combination Paul taught us!" Dawn exclaimed.

_Uh ho._

I had no idea what Paul's fighting style was like, the only time I had seen him battle was during one double battle with Ash, so I had no idea what to expect.

"Slide Punch!" Dawn exclaimed, Buneary nodded and began charging forward, firing an Ice Beam at the ground, creating a long, slim, icy path, Buneary hopped onto the path and began to skate down it, quickly gaining speed and momentum, all while forming a Dizzy Punch. With the added momentum from skating down the strip of ice, the force of Buneary's attack doubled, hitting Skitty and sending her flying away.

"Easily skating on the ice, Buneary managed to clobber Skitty with some harsh force!" the MC said.

"Oh yeah! It worked just like Paul said it would!" Dawn said, giddily jumping up and down while Buneary mimicked her movement. Skitty weakly got up, still determined not to lose.

"Two can play at that game," I said, "Skitty, Blizzard on the ground!" I exclaimed, Skitty nodded and blew Blizzard all over the ground, covering it with slick ice.

"Assist!" I exclaimed, Skitty formed the ball again and shot String Shot at Buneary, who slipped on the ice and couldn't dodge. The web like string covered Buneary, leaving her helpless.

"Buneary is in a bit of a bind... No pun intended" The MC said.

"Grab the string!" I exclaimed, Skitty grabbed the string in her mouth.

"Good, now spin around as fast as you can!" I told her, she looked at me with a quizzed glance. Skitty must not have known what "spin" meant. I quickly thought of how to get her to spin though.

"Hey Skitty, look at your tail!" I said, Skitty glanced at her tail before quickly getting excited and chasing it, spinning around and around with the Sting from String Shot still in her mouth. Buneary, still trapped in the string, also began to spin around on the ice in a big circle as Skitty chased her tail.

"!" She exclaimed as she was rapidly spun around.

"Ice Beam on the String!" Dawn said. Buneary obeyed and shot and icy cold beam at the thin string. The thin, sticky, stretchy string hardened, making it easy for her to break free. But the momentum from the spinning sent the rabbit-like Pokémon flying, she hit the ground and slid on the ice, slamming face first into the wall.

"Ouch..." I said

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

"Team Rocket!" I exclaimed, jumping out of the bushes with Lucario. The grunts looked over at me, I recognized them from when they captured Suicune.

"Not that brat again!" A grunt exclaimed, "Get out of here while you can! Or we'll have to take extreme measures..."

"Lucario, you take care of that Crobat!" I told him.

"Rmmm!" He agreed, dashing towards the Crobat as the two Grunts who had been trying to catch Entei advanced, pulling out their Pokéballs.

"Shoot! I didn't bring Pikachu or Gengar!" I exclaimed, I felt my belt, which held Totodile and Gible's Pokéballs.

"Last chance to back off kid," a grunt said. I grabbed my two Pokéballs and threw them in the air.

"Gible! Totodile! I choose you!" I exclaimed. The two Pokémon appeared before me, ready to battle.

"Weezing! Let's go!"

"Arbok! Let's take them down!"

The two Poison types appeared before Gible and Totodile.

"Ready guys?" I asked my Pokémon.

"Gib!"

"Tote!"

"Gible, Rock Smash, Totodile, Scratch!"

"Use Bite Arbok!"

"Weezing, Sludge Bomb!"

Totodile and and Gible dashed towards the Weezing and Arbok, swiftly dodging the Sludge Bombs thrown at them. Gible jumped into the air and head butted into Weezing with Rock Smash while Totodile scratched away at Arbok.

"Totodile, use Bite on the end of Arbok's tail!" I said, Totodile spun around and bit down hard at Arbok's tail, earning a loud roar from the poison type Pokémon.

"Great! Know sling him into Weezing!" I said, Totodile spun around again, still biting Arbok, gaining momentum before letting go and throwing Arbok into Weezing. Knocking them both out.

"Wow, you guys aren't very good." I said, both men growled.

"Uh, we were only training those Pokémon, they weren't our best..." One Grunt said.

"Yeah..." the other Grunt agreed "What he said..."

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

Buneary walked around dizzily, unable to come to her senses. She was dizzier than a Spinda. It was rather amusing to watch her wobble around the stage, trying to tell her feet from her hands. I could have attacked her and given a lot of damage and taken a lot of points off of Dawn's bar, but I couldn't tell Skitty to hit a helpless Pokémon, unable to defend itself.

"Looks like Buneary have been spun out of its senses; will Dawn be able to snap her out of it?" The announcer asked.

When Buneary finally shook herself out of the dizziness she had been trapped in, she was even more enraged than before. At first glance, one could have mistaken her for a Dark type Pokémon.

"BUNEARY!" It exclaimed, making my hair stand on end.

"Another combination!" Dawn exclaimed, "Ice Pillars!"

Buneary jumped up into the air, shooting an Ice Beam underneath her, creating a shiney pillar of ice. She landed on it and bounced off it, the force of the bounce pushed the ice pillat to the side, causing it to fall top of Skitty.

"NYYAAAA!" I heard Skitty shout.

"Skitty!" I exclaimed, "A-Are you okay?" The little cat rose to her feet again, beginning to shake.

"After creating a beautiful sparkling pillar of ice, Buneary use the pillar to deal some serious damage to Skitty!" the MC said, getting really into about the battle.

A small jolt of pain shot through my heal, making me wince, but not cry out.

"Skitty, use Assist," I said. Skitty began the attack, suddenly shooting a large orange beam at Buneary, hitting the Pokémon and sending it hurdling backwards.

"That was Overheat!" I exclaimed, noting that the powerful Fire attack had melted the ice on the ground, leaving a muddy mess.

"Bounce Buneary!" Dawn exclaimed, Buneary nodded and tried to bounce, but because of the muddy ground, barely got any height and fell forward on her face.

"Looks like the slimy ground has rendered Bounce worthless!" The MC said.

"Buneary, multiple Dizzy Punches into the ground!" Dawn exclaimed. Buneary began to punch the ground as hard as she could, with enough force to start making huge ripples in the mud. Eventually, the ripples because so large and powerful, Skitty was thrown off her feet and into the air.

"NYAAHH!" Skitty cried as she flew through the air, hitting the ground with a thud.

"Dawn was able to make up for the loss of Bounce and use the muddy ground to her advantage!" The MC announced, "Will May have a good comeback?"

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

Several grunts had all called out their Pokémon, hoping to take down Gible and Totodile while Lucario was still preoccupied with Golbat.

"Give it up, kid, you're severely outnumbered..." One grunt said.

"But am I out powered?" I asked, baffling the grunt for I minute, I swear those guys must have an IQ of 40 or something...

"Gible, finish them all off with Draco Meteor..." I said casually, Gible began to charge up the attack.

The Grunt's face dropped, "You wouldn't..."

I could help but smirk, "Oh, you're familiar with the move?"

"Yes! It's the most powerful Dragon move that currently exists!" A grunt said before slapping his hand over his mouth.

Or an IQ of 30...

Gible finished charging and shot the ball into the air, which exploded and began to fall down to earth.

"Run for cover!" The grunts shouted. The meteors fell and landed with loud crashes, making the ground shake and rumble.

"You idiot! We're on a cliff!" A grunt shouted, "The attack will make it collapse!"

***GRRRRRRRUUUUMBLLLLLLLE!***

_Uh oh..._I returned Gible and Totodile as fast as I could, right before to ground out from under me collapsed.

Maybe I'm the one with an IQ of 30...

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

Ugh, this mud is annoying I thought to myself, we need to take care of it.

"Skitty, Jump and use Blizzard on the mud!" I said, Skitty leapt into the air blowing icy cold wind at the mud, hardening it and making it crusty.

"It looks like Buneary is stuck!" The announcer said. I looked over and saw Buneary's feet were buried in the hard mud.

"Now's our chance! Skitty, Tackle!" I exclaimed, Skitty charged forward towards Buneary and slammed into her, forcing her out of the ground and knocking her back.

"Bun!" the rabbit exclaimed as she bounced back to her feet.

"Now use Bounce!" Dawn told Buneary. Buneary did a small hop and then leapt into the air, cracking the ground beneath her. Her target wasn't Skitty though, she slammed into the ground, sending large chunks of hard mud flying, several hitting Skitty.

"It looks like the mud made from the melted ice had really affected this battle!" The MC said.

I suddenly had another sharp pain in my heel, this time a bit stronger.

"Ugh," I groaned, but as quickly as it came, the pain went away.

"Okay Buneary! Dizzy Fall!" Dawn exclaimed.

Dizzy Fall? Was that another combination Paul had taught her? Buneary leapt into the air using Bounce and formed Dizzy Punch in midair, before falling back down to earth and hitting Skitty with a Dizzy Punch plus the added momentum from the fall.

I had to hand it to Paul, as far as I could tell, Buneary only knew three moves: Bounce, Dizzy Punch, And Ice Beam, and Paul had really come up with some great combinations that took those moves a long way.

But I had thought up a few combinations myself.

"Skitty! Blizzard on your tail!" I told her, the cat craned her neck and shot Blizzard at her own tail, covering it with ice.

"It looks like Skitty just used an attack on itself! What could May be up to?" The MC asked.

"Double Slap!" I commanded, Skitty, though a little slower than before due to the icy tail, charged at Buneary and began continually hitting her with Double Slap.

"An interesting idea!" The MC admitted, "Freezing her own tail, Skitty's Double Slap actually deals more damage due to that hard layer of ice!"

"Buneary! Let's distract Skitty! Run around her as fast as you can!" Dawn said.

What was she up to? Buneary began to run in a tight circle around Skitty, making to Normal type spin around rapidly to keep the rabbit in view, upon spinning around Skitty took notice of her own tail. She completely forgot about Buneary and began running around in circles trying to catch her tail.

"It looks like Skitty has temporarily forgotten about the battle in an attempt to catch her tail!" The MC stated.

"Skitty! Stay focused!" I shouted, trying to get the Pokémon's attention.

"Buneary! Let's use the new move Paul taught us!" Dawn said.

Paul this, Paul that. I swear if Paul hadn't helped Dawn, I would have beaten her a long time ago.

"Hyper Beam!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Oh no! Skitty look out!" I shouted, but it was no use, Skitty wasn't paying attention and was hit by the Hyper Beam, flying backwards.

"Now that's a powerful attack!" The MC said, gosh that woman was starting to get on my nerves.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

The ground beneath me collapsed as the grunts got into their Helicopter and were air born just in time. Entei, Lucario, and I all tumbled down the cliff. I latched onto Lucario, clamping my eyes shut as we fell.

I never thought it would end like this, luckily it didn't. Out of nowhere, large hands grabbed me and Lucario, stopping our fall, I tried to crane my neck to see what it was but I couldn't tell. We descended to the ground where we were let go of, tumbling to the ground and rolling to a stop. Whatever grabbed us flew out of sight before I could see it.

"Lucario! Are you okay?" I asked, getting up from the ground. Lucario rose to his feet and nodded.

"Hrrmm..." he grunted.

"Let's go find Entei and Team Rocket!" I told him, he nodded and we dashed into the forest that we had been dropped off by. We ran towards the mountain that loomed high above us, where we had fallen and Entei had more than likely landed.

"Did you see what grabbed us?" I asked Lucario, who nodded.

"What was it? A bird Pokémon?" I asked, he shook his head, but couldn't seem to explain to me what it was.

_No time to worry about that,_ I thought, _we have to find Entei.__  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

I cringed, I another sharp pain shot through my heel. It _keeps getting worse,_I thought to myself, I tried to take my mind off it and focus on the battle.

Skitty had just recovered from the Hyper Beam attack, while Buneary was busy recharging from the attack.

"Skitty, use Blizzard!" I said, Skitty shot Blizzard at the recharging Buneary, knocking the brown Pokémon over.

"It's getting down to the nitty gritty here," The MC said, "Both Pokémon are tried out from dealing and dishing out attacks!"

You're telling me. I was amazed Skitty hadn't fallen from all the damage it had taken, the sheer determination must have been enough to make her want to go on, of course, Buneary was the same way. Buneary rose back to her feet weakly, still not ready to give up.

"This thing doesn't know when to quit!" I said.

"You should talk..." I heard Dawn reply, but I just ignored her.

"Skitty! Tackle!" I said, Skitty charged forward to Buneary.

"Use Bounce to dodge!" Dawn said. Buneary shot into the sky coming down towards Skitty.

"Do a barrel roll!" I told Skitty, an evasive move I had come up with myself. She rolled away dodging Buneary's attack.

"Double Slap!" I said. Skitty charged forward, trying to hit Buneary, who skillfully stepped back and dodged the attacks.

"Dizzy Punch!" Dawn shouted. Buneary charged forward with a glowing hand.

"Skitty! Do another barrel roll!" I said, Skitty once again easily rolled out of the way of the attack.

"Blizzard!"

"Ice Beam!"

The two attacks collided, the two normal types fought to overpower the other with whatever energy they had left.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

"We're... Almost... There..." I said breathing heavily as we ran to the looming mountain; it actually was a lot farther away than it appeared.

"Rrm, Hrm, Rr, Hm," Lucario grunted as we ran, equally as tired, for once I was glad Pikachu wasn't with me, had he been riding on my shoulder, I would have been even more wiped out than I already was.

We sprang over some bushes, finally reaching Entei, who had been knocked out by the fall. Suddenly, a net fell from the sky and wrapped itself around the legendary fire type, and began to lift it into the air. Up in the sky was Team Rocket's helicopter, pulling Entei up.

"I should thank you for knocking out Entei for us, kid!" One grunt shouted, the helicopter began to rise, lifting Entei into the air.

"No!" I shouted running over to the slowing rising net and grabbing onto it, so the helicopter lifted me as well. Lucario ran and jumped into the air, grabbing my leg, as we rose Lucario tried to grab onto a tree branch, but it just broke as we rose. I looked down and saw that it was too late to let go, the drop would be too far. Slowly we flew higher and higher, My grip on the net began to weaken; the additional weight of holding up Lucario didn't help either.

"Uh ho..." I said.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

The room began to get much chillier as the attacks collided.

"It's the final batter of power! But just which Pokémon will overcome the other?" The MC asked.

"AAAAAHH!" I scream, as an extremely strong pain ripped through my heel, making me fall to my hands and knees. The crowd all gasped as they watched me fall.

"Nyah?" Skitty stopped Blizzard and turned around to look at me, just to get hit by Buneary's Ice Beam a single second later.

***BEEEEEEEEEEP!***

"Time is up!" The MC stated, "After showing off some fierce power and some snazzy combinations, each Pokémon showed that they were more than able to fight, and both still remain standing. Now, it all comes down to counting the points to see who is the winner!"

* * *

><p><strong>It's like a double cliff hanger... All the way...<strong>

**So, the brutal battle is over! Who do YOU want to win?**

**Craziness, anyways, I'm actually quite proud of myself for this chapter, considering I wrote a contest, which I really hate doing, but I knew I needed to make May and Dawn's battle epic. And did anyone notice my Star Fox reference? Hey I have to have some fun too.**

**Anyways, leave a review, telling me who you want to win, and who will be happily skipping to the Grand Festival!**

**And a special thanks to all you wonderful people who have been reviewing, making me a cheerful chap. Thanks to Bulbpedia, for all the bucket loads of info I use to try to make this story as accurate as possible. And thank you other FanFiction writers who inspired me to write this.**

**Yep, so on that note.**

**Fin (Of the chapter, not the story)**


	21. Chapter 21: The Beautiful Letdown

**Chapter 21: The Beautiful Letdown**

* * *

><p><strong>READ THE AUTHOR NOTE AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER.<strong>

**Woot! Over 100 reviews! That was double my original goal! You guys are so flipping cool! Thanks for reading the fic!**

**I really wish I could count this towards writing in school, I would have enough words to complete all my writing for the rest of high school, Oh well.**

**The Beautiful Letdown is a song by Switchfoot, one of my favorite bands ever. So yeah, that's where the title came from.**

**Don't own Pokémon.**

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

The pain in my heel slowly faded away. I slowly and carefully got up from my hands and knees. Skitty, who was now wobbling from weakness, approached me.

"Nyah?" She asked, looking up at me, I smiled and stroked her fur.

"You were great out there Skitty," I said, with that, I returned her to her Pokéball. I turned to the screen and looked at our points, both only mere slivers; they were so close I couldn't tell who had won.

"Typical..." I grumbled, it seemed to happen too often. I clenched my fists, and turned my back to the screen, shutting my eyes tightly.

"Please let me win..." I whispered desperately, silently praying that I could win.

"It looks like the winner... Is..."

…

Dramatic pause...

…

"Dawn from Twinleaf Town!" The announcer exclaimed.

My heart sunk and my legs went limp, I once again, fell to my knees. _No... No... __**NO!**_I thought.

"Congratulations Dawn!" The announcer said, "You will be heading for the Grand Festival, we wish you the best of luck!"

I couldn't take it anymore, I quickly ran out of the Contest Hall bursting into tears.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

"Lucario! I... Can't... Hold... On... Much... Longer!" I exclaimed, I was barely clinging to the net with my fingers as we dangled high above the ground.

"Should I finish them off sir?" One grunt in helicopter asked.

"No, he won't be able to hold on much longer..." Another grunt said.

Lucario whimpered as he continued to cling to my leg. Suddenly, Entei's eyes snapped open and he let out a roar, thrashing around, wiggling from inside the net. Suddenly, the net was jerked from my grasp. Lucario and I began to fall yet again.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAA-OOF!" I exclaimed, suddenly ramming into something in mid fall. I looked down and saw green beneath me, but, it wasn't the ground. I look ahead and saw a large green head, which turned around and looked at me.

"Rayquaza!" I exclaimed. I looked around and saw I was riding on his back, high in the sky.

_Hey! We can stop Team Rocket and save Entei! _I thought to myself, I looked around again. "Where's Lucario?"

I looked down at the earth and saw a small figure still falling. "Oh no! Rayquaza! We have to save Lucario!" I exclaimed, Rayquaza looked down, letting out a roar. Suddenly, he shot downwards, almost jerking me from his back. I grabbed a hold of it tightly as we shot down towards the ground; the legendary Pokémon banked sharply, barely missing the ground, and quickly flew forward. Just before Lucario could hit the ground, Rayquaza grabbed him with one of his large hands and slowly came to a stop.

I hopped off the dragon's back as he let go of Lucario, who gracefully landed and ran over to me, tackling me to the ground and hugging my tightly.

"Hehe, Team Rocket won't get rid of us that easily hu?" I told him, he smiled and chuckled, letting go of me and helping me back to my feet. We both walked over to the big green Pokémon who had saved our skins.

"Thank you for saving us... A second time..." I said to him, he nodded before letting out a roar, and quickly shooting into the air again, disappearing in the vast blue sky.

"Well, that was an interesting experience..." I told Lucario, who nodded in agreement, "Now what were we doing before all this happened?"

Suddenly it dawned on me.

"Oh no! We left in the middle of the contest!" I exclaimed, suddenly dashing back towards the contest hall.

"Let's go and see if we can catch the rest of it!" I shouted as we dashed into Blackthorn City and through the streets, speedily shooting through the double doors of the Contest Hall and into the lobby, where I found Dawn, Paul, along with Pikachu and Gengar.

"You own my five bucks," Paul told Dawn.

"What? Why?" Dawn exclaimed.

"I told you May would use a Pokémon you wouldn't expect."

"I don't remember making a deal!"

"I said that if she picked Skitty or Munchlax you owed me five bucks."

"But we didn't shake on it," Dawn said slyly, wiggling her index finger in Paul's face.

"You little-!" Paul exclaimed, but was cut off.

"Who won?" I asked, Paul motioned to Dawn, who showed me her ribbon.

"Earned it fair and square," Dawn said proudly, putting it into her case.

"So where's May?" I asked, looking back and forth between the two.

"She dashed out of the Contest Hall once she heard she lost," Paul said, "We have no idea where she is..."

My shoulders slumped, time and time again, if May lost a contest, I would do my best to comfort her, but now... When she had needed it the most... I wasn't there for her.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

_Stupid, untalented, weak..._I sat at a bench in the park, crying my eyes out. Sniffing and sobbing, I wiped my eyes for the umpteenth time. I couldn't believe I lost to her again.

**Again!**

I let my Pokémon down! I let myself down!

I let Ash down...

I couldn't believe it; I lost when I needed to win the most! If my stupid heel hadn't hurt so badly, we could have won! This would be the first time I wouldn't be going to the Grand Festival. I continued to cry, clenching my fist, just wanting to be left alone.

"May?"

_Dag nabbit._

I turned and saw Ash standing there, a sad smile on his face.

"Oh... Hey Ash..." I said, sniffing again.

"You mind if I sit down?" he asked, I shook my head, now gazing at the ground, ashamed to look him in the eye. I felt the bench move and creak as he sat down next to me. I sat there, still crying as he sat there silently. I felt Ash place a warm hand down gently on my back, before rubbing it.

"I-I'm really sorry that you didn't win May..." He said. Suddenly I stood up and turned to face him.

"How could you even care?" I exclaimed, "How can you say that you care?"

"May, I do care!" Ash insisted.

"You didn't even watch the battle!" I said, still crying, "You would have come out here, and said the exact same thing to Dawn if she had lost!" I turned and ran away into the forest.

"May!" I heard him shout far off behind me. I just kept running, unable to face him, or anybody else. I stopped in front of a river, panting heavily from running.

I let out a scream, grabbing a rock and throwing it into the lake. I fell to my knees and continued to weep.

"Why did I ever go through Johto again?" I shouted to the sky.

"Yeah… why did you come with me to Johto?"

I turned and saw Ash standing there, now slowly approaching me. He sat down next to where I was kneeling, seeming to be out of breath from chasing after me.

"I..." I tried to say, wearily sitting down next to him. Why had I come with him to Johto? I loved to travel, it was the reason I got a Pokémon in the first place. I had just gone through Johto before Ash announced he would be going. Why did I go with him?

Because... _I love him..._

"I'm not ready to talk about that yet..." I told him, Ash gave me a confused look, but shrugged it off.

"May, I just want to say-" He began, but I cut him off, raising my hand in front of his face.

"I know that you really are sorry about my loss," I told him, "And I'm sorry for what I said before. You can't pick favorites; I should have realized that..." I could feel the sorrow rising back up.

"But... I can't believe I lost..." I burst into tears all over again; I wrapped my arms around my legs tightly and buried my face in my knees.

"Need a hug?"

I looked over at Ash, who had a warm smile on his face and his arms stretched out. I leaned over and he embraced me, I slowly wrapped my arms around him as well, still sobbing.

"So..." Ash asked not letting go of me, "Does this mean you'll be returning home or going to another region now?" I looked at him, before shaking my head.

"No, I'm gonna stay here with you guys," I said.

"But, what about your dream?" He asked.

I sighed and pulled away, looking at him, "What good is a dream if you aren't with your friends?" I asked him. He thought for a moment.

"What about Drew?" he asked, I simply rolled my eyes.

"He's already busy."

"Solidad?"

"Too old."

"Harley?"

"Dear Arceus **no**! Come on are you _trying_to get rid of me?" I asked, Ash's eyes widened and he quickly shook his head.

"**No**! Of course not! It's just that..."

"Just that what?" I asked him, he pulled the brim of his cap over his eyes, concealing them from my sight.

"I don't want you to stop trying to achieve your dream, because... Of me..." He said, I smiled at the irony.

"I said something similar like that to you..." I said, he looked up, "Don't you remember? I asked, "I didn't want to hold you back, but you said not to worry about it, that I wasn't holding you back."

"And?" Ash asked, still not catching onto what I was getting at.

"Now I'm telling you the same thing," I said leaning towards him and tapping him on the head, "You won't stop me from achieving my dream, No need to worry..." Ash smiled.

"Heh, Dawn used to say that all the time," He said, "You know how I would reply?" I tilted my head.

"How?" I asked him.

"_'That's when I worry the most_,'" he said, I smirked.

"You stinker..." I said, we both began to laugh. I couldn't help but smile inside; Ash always was able to make me feel better, even in the worst case scenario. I felt as if I couldn't care less about losing to Dawn. As long as I was with Ash, I didn't need to go to the Grand Festival. But there was still a question tickling my brain.

"So where did you and Lucario disappear to during the contest?" I asked him, he took a deep breath, as if suddenly becoming stressed.

"Ugh, Team Rocket captured Entei..." He said, I gasped.

"No way!" I exclaimed, he nodded.

"I tried to stop them, but I failed..." He said, gazing at the ground, the brim of his cap hiding his eyes again.

I sighed, watching the river flow by "I know I shouldn't say this, but I kind of feel safer now. You know, now that Entei can't attack us anymore." Ash let out a soft laugh.

"Yeah, I don't blame you, being that it almost killed us all..." he said.

"Plus I had a dream..." I said, Ash looked over at me, curious with what I said.

"Oh? What happened in the dream?" he asked, I shut my eyes, trying as hard as I could to remember.

"I... Can't quite remember, it seems like we were standing in the middle of a burning town, and there were lots of explosions. And there was a blur of a Pokémon running around..." I said.

Ash tilted his head a little, "And you think the blur was Entei?" He asked. I nodded my head. Ash turned back to the river.

"What do you think it means?" I asked him, Ash turned his gaze to the running river, thinking of a good reply.

"That this journey is far from over..." he said finally.

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

"3... 4... 5..." I counted, handing Paul his five bucks. He smirked and stuffed it in his pockets.

"So what have we learned from this experience?" Paul asked.

"That you're a _jerk_?"

"Don't make bets with me, I am always right," he said smartly crossing his arms. I let out a sigh.

"For a boyfriend, you're not very nice..." I said playfully, he blinked a few times.

"What?" he asked, I just sighed at his ignorance.

"What are you 'whating' me about?" I asked him.

"Since when have I been your boyfriend?" he asked, I put my hands on my hips.

"Ever since you kissed me ding-dong!" I said, bonking his head.

"That's how you seal the deal?" He asked, I nodded.

"Yep pretty much," I confirmed.

"Oh..."

I laughed hugged him, "You're cute when you're confused..."

"I'll go ahead and take that as a compliment..." Paul said.

"Sure, if that's what you_ want_it to be." I told him.

"Wait, what's that sup-" I cut him off by covering his lips with mine.

"PIKA!" Pikachu said, I stopped kissing Paul and looked over at Pikachu, Lucario, and Gengar, who both toppled over onto their backs.

"Heh," I laughed, "They can't take a kiss, just like their trainer..."

***Thud!***

"Ash, are you okay?"

Paul and I turned and saw Ash also lying on the floor, May kneeling beside him to see if he was okay.

"Uh ho..." Paul said.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"So Rayquaza saved you again?" I asked, Ash nodded. We both were approaching the Pokémon Center, I had to admit I was sad the alone time I had with Ash was coming to an end.

"Yep, he dropped me off and that was pretty much it..." he said.

_Uh ho..._

As we approached the Pokémon Center, I looked through the glass door and saw Dawn kissing a rather surprised Paul. I knew Paul didn't want Ash to know about him and Dawn, so I tried to think fast.

"Hey Ash!" I said, grabbed his wrist and jerking him backwards, stopping him and turning his attention away from the Pokémon Center.

"Yowch! Yeah May?" He asked.

"Why don't we go back to the ice cream parlor we visited the other day?" I suggested.

"You mean when Pikachu zapped your heel?" He asked, I nodded in response, "Okay, sounds good," he said.

Still holding onto his wrist, I began to pull him away from the Pokémon Center.

"Hold you Horseas!" He said, pulled away and jerking out of my grip.

"I have to go to the loo really bad, I'll be right back out," He said, running towards the Pokémon Center.

"Ash wait! You can go at the ice cream parlor!" I tried to reason with him.

_Too late.__  
><em>  
>I ran through the double doors right behind Ash, who had frozen in place watching Dawn and Paul kiss. Ash's eyes were huge and jaw slack.<p>

"PIKA!"

I looked over and saw Pikachu, Gengar, And Lucario all topple over onto their backs.

"Heh," Dawn laughed, "They can't take a kiss, just like their trainer..." Ash then also toppled backwards. I tried to catch him but was too slow.

***Thud!***

I quickly knelt down, "Ash, are you okay?" I asked him, but got no response, he was out cold.

"Uh ho..." I heard Paul say. He and Dawn hurried over to me.

"Is he okay?" Dawn asked, kneeling down next to me, as if there had never been a rivalry between us.

"He must have hit his head, he's out cold," I told her.

"Do think he hurt himself badly?" Paul asked. I shrugged, lifting Ash's head off the ground and onto my lap. I looked around the lobby of the Pokémon Center.

"We should lay him down somewhere soft," I said.

"How about one of the sofas?" Dawn asked, I nodded and with the help of Paul and Dawn, carried him to the sofa.

"Dang, he's heavy!" Paul complained, shaking his arms after laying Ash down.

"How are we going to wake him up?" Dawn asked.

"Why not use some food! His weight seems to suggest he likes to eat!" Paul said sarcastically. Dawn and I both looked at him.

"What?" he asked, "I was just being sarcastic."

"Dawn! Go get some food!" I told her, she nodded and ran off.

"I was only joking," Paul said as Dawn ran passed him. By now, Ash's Pokémon had gotten off the floor and stood around Ash.

"Pika Pika ChuChuPi?" Pikachu asked, sounding as if he was worried about his trainer.

"Don't worry Pikachu, Ash is fine, he just needs a wakeup call,' I assured him. The rodent smirked mischievously and his cheeks began to spark.

"Not like that..." I told him, making him stop the sparks.

"I brought some food," Dawn said, holding out a plate of french fries.

I could already see what was coming...

"Gengar!" Gengar exclaimed excitedly, jumping towards the plate of fries, Dawn ducked out of the way as Gengar flew over her.

"Gen?" The ghost type said, seeing he had no french fries in his hands, he turned around and charged towards Dawn again.

"Not so fast!" Paul exclaimed, jumped in Gengar's way.

"YAH!" Paul exclaimed as Gengar floated through his body, still going for Dawn.

"You take them!" Dawn said, giving me the fries.

"You brought them! You take them!" I told her, handing the fries back to her.

"You asked for food!" She handed them back to me, I began to hand it to her again, but Gengar tackled us both to the floor. Fries flew through the air, landing everywhere. Dawn and I laid on the floor next to each other. We exchanged glances before bursting into laughter.

"You guys..."

Dawn and I stopped laughing for a moment, looking at Paul who had a blank face.

"I just had the strangest dream... That a Gengar literally flew straight through my stomach..." he said. Dawn and I burst into laughter again.

"I guess... We should... Clean up and fries..." I said, still giggling with Dawn. She nodded, but when we looked around, there was not a fry in sight, just an extremely happy Gengar patting his stomach. Our jaws went slack.

"That thing sure can eat," Paul said in disbelief.

"He takes after his trainer," Dawn said.

I walked over to the Pokémon Center cafeteria with intentions on getting another plate of food that didn't consist of french fries. I grabbed a few strips of bacon and walked back over to the still unconscious Ash. I held the strips of bacon over his nose, hoping it would wake him up. His eyes snapped open and he lunged for the bacon, snatching it from my hand before shoving it into his mouth. Dawn and I sighed while Paul just watched in disbelief.

"What?" Ash asked, "Is there something on my face?"

I shook my head and laughed, "No, you're just being you." I told him, he looked at me, then Dawn, to Paul, and back at me.

"Was I out?" He asked me, I nodded my head again.

"Like a light," Dawn said cheerfully, Ash rubbed the back of his head, feeling the small, hidden lump under his hair.

"What happened?" He asked. I exchanged glances with Dawn and Paul.

"You don't remember?" I asked him, he shook his head 'no'.

"Pi, Pika chuchu pik-" Pikachu began to explain, but Dawn stopped him short.

"You ran into a pole," Dawn said quickly, not looking him in the eyes. He rubbed the back of his head.

"I ran into a pole and hit the back of my head?" he asked, I sweat-dropped, he had a point.

"You were running backwards," Paul said, making me sweat-drop again, it had to be the worst lie in the history of lies. Pikachu looked at Dawn and Paul oddly as they came up with their stupid excuses. He looked over at me but I winked at him and put my finger to my lips, signaling him to stay quiet. Pikachu blinked a few times but seemed to keep his mouth shut. I figured I could trust him with the secret. In a way I felt bad for Ash, he was the only one out of the loop in this situation.

_Oh well._

"Well, I'm off," Paul said, walking towards the door of the Pokémon Center.

"Where are you going?" Dawn asked, following close behind him.

"The Battle Tower to challenge Palmer again," He said casually.

"Really?" Ash asked, "Did you get any training in?"

Paul stopped walking and turned to face us, he nodded and said "Yes, and I have developed a strategy to beat him..." with that, Paul waved goodbye and left with Dawn.

"Wait, Dawn is going with him?" Ash asked, I bit my bottom lip, but managed to casually shrug my shoulders.

"Hm, odd," Ash said, "Hey, I'm gonna go train, you can come with me if you want." I smiled and nodded, and together with his Pokémon, we left the Pokémon Center.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"Gible! Draco Meteor!" As shouted, Gible formed an orange ball in his mouth, before aiming it upward and firing it into the sky. The orange orb seemed to disappear into the sky before blowing up and falling back to earth.

"Alright you guys! Get ready dodge!" Ash said, Totodile and Pikachu nodded and watched the meteors fall, the dashed around careful to avoid every last one.

I clapped my hands, "Wow Ash, Draco Meteor would be a great contest move, how did Gible learn it?" I asked him, he laughed and knelt down by Gible, petting his hard head.

"It took a really long time," Ash said, "But after causing Piplup lots of pain, we figured it out," he said, making Gible roll his eyes. I would have questioned what he was talking about, but I could tell Gible would have rather not kept on the subject.

We all sat in a large field; I sat in the soft green grass with Gengar and Lucario, who were not training with Ash. He had decided he would use the same Pokémon as he had in his last battle with Palmer.

Gengar got bored of watching Ash train and decided to wander around, eventually disappearing in the woods.

"Hey May, could you go find Gengar, I don't want him to get lost," Ash said, I nodded and got up. Walking in the direction I saw Gengar wander off. I looked around in the woods, looking for the Shadow Pokémon, when I suddenly tripped on a root, but rather than fall to the ground, I was pulled up. I found myself trapped, dangling from a tree in a net.

"What's going on!" I exclaimed.

"'What's going on?' is the question, indeed!"

"We'll answer you as we feel the need!"

Team Rocket stepped out of some bushes, laughing proudly.

"Bringing the blinding white light-"

"Cut the stupid motto and let me down!" I exclaimed.

"Hey! How dare you! I was talking!" Jessie exclaimed, stomping her foot into the ground.

"Just for dat, I'll be takin' dis!" Meowth said, ripping my fanny pack off my waist and getting it out of the net.

"Hey! That has all my Pokémon!" I exclaimed angrily wiggling around the net.

"All da more of a reason ta take it!" Meowth said. I couldn't break free, the only thing I could think of was to stall them and hope that Ash would come looking for me and find us.

"I've noticed you guys haven't been bothering us at all through Johto," I said, crossing my arms, "What's up? Are we just not important anymore?" I asked them with a smirk. They all suddenly stood up straighter and put their right hand over their heart.

"We have been assigned a very important mission straight from Giovanni himself!" James said proudly.

"Yes! He needs our skills and wits to take over the world!" Jessie said.

"And we were assigned ta catch anyone who came too close to dah super secret awesome base Team Rocket hid in this very forest!" Meowth said, immediately being clobbered by Jessie and James.

"Are you trying to give everything away?" Jessie asked angrily.

"It just slipped out by accident," Meowth said.

"I'll show you an accident!" James said, the three got into a comical fight, dust, fists, and feet flying everywhere as I watched silently.

_Who needs a plan when you have enemies like these?_I thought to myself.

"Guys! Let's stay focused!" Jessie suddenly said.

"Right!" Meowth and James exclaimed together.

James covered his mouth with his fist and coughed, "Ahem, you know too much, we must take you to our base, _which is __**definitely**__ not anywhere around __**here**_."

"Nope! Definitely not anywhere near!" Meowth confirmed. I just rolled my eyes. These guys are horrible liars, _even worse than Dawn and Paul_, I thought

"How are you gonna get me there? I'm going to give you a struggle if you let me out," I told them, still hoping to stall them. James closed his eyes and stuck his index finger in the air, preparing to explain, before making a face of realization.

"Guys, group huddle," He said, the three huddled around and whispered to each other.

"Ahem, Meowth, Fury Swipes on the tree branch!" Jessie said.

"Don't say it like I'm a Pokémon!" Meowth demanded.

"Uh, but you are a Pokémon," James pointed out. Meowth just sighed before jumping into the air and slashing away at the tree branch. It broke and I fell to the ground, still trapped in the net, with a thud.

"Owch!" I exclaimed, rubbed my back, which I had landed on.

"Quit whining!" Meowth shouted.

"Alright gentlemen, you carry her and I'll lead the way!" Jesse said, marching off. Meowth and James sweat-dropped.

I didn't end up being carried, just dragged on the ground because Meowth was too short to suspend me in the air.

"Ugh, you guys are going to ruin my outfit," I complained.

"Be quiet! We're working here!" James grunted as he struggled to drag me along.

"Gen-Gar-Gen-Gar-**Gen**-**Gen**-**Gar**!" I heard something singing, Gengar suddenly stepped into the path, lost in his own world.

"Gengar! Help!" I exclaimed, snapping Gengar from his imagination. He turned and saw Team Rocket dragging me around.

"Gengar!" He said frantically.

"Hey I remember you!" Jessie said angrily, "You're the Pokémon that caused us so much trouble before!" Jessie said, pointing an angry finger at Gengar, which he bit down on. Jessie screamed in pain.

"YEOWCH!" Jessie exclaimed, pulling her hand back. Gengar and I laughed.

"Why you little-" Jessie began, but Gengar floated through her and James, appearing before me and cutting the net, breaking me free. I got up and brushed myself off angrily.

"Team Rocket! Give me back my Pokémon!" I exclaimed, Gengar now floating by my side.

"Eep! Angry girl! Run!" James exclaimed, dashing off with Jessie and Meowth.

"Let's get them!" I told Gengar, who nodded before we both chased after them. We quickly gained on the trio.

"Stay away! **Stay away!**" James exclaimed, I reached out and grabbed my fanny pack from Meowth.

"Hey! We stole dose fair n' square!" Meowth said, turning around.

"Hypnosis!" I told Gengar, who shot odd yellow rings at Team Rocket, putting them all to sleep.

"Maybe we'll take 'em back tomorrow..." Meowth yawned as he topple over.

"Shadow Ball!" I exclaimed, Gengar charged up and shot a dark ball at the three, sending them flying off, unable to say they were _blasting off again_, because they were still asleep.

Gengar and I watched them fly off before turning to each other. He flew at me and I embraced him.

"Thank you Gengar! I don't what would have happened if you hadn't showed up," I said, hugging him tightly.

"Gen**gar**!" He replied.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

We returned to the field and found Ash was wrapping up his training.

"Took you guys a while," He said.

I huffed and crossed my arms, "Excusing me, but it's a big forest!" I said in a matter-of-fact tone. He just shrugged and motioned for us to follow him back to the Pokémon Center. As we approached the center, we noticed a large crowd of people also heading to the Pokémon Center, shouting and exclaiming questions to someone in the middle of the madness.

"I wonder what's going on..." Ash said, looking at me, I just shrugged my shoulders. We approached the crowds, hearing the questions they were asking.

"Where are you going next?"

"What are your future plans?"

"How did you achieve such an amazing task?"

"What Pokémon did you use?"

"Smile and look at the camera!"

After jumping up and down trying to see over the crowds, we saw a purple and blue heads of hair disappear into the Pokémon Center, which were now blocked by several guards.

"Excuse me, coming through, pardon me," Ash and I both said as we weaved through the crowds. We eventually reached the door, where several guards and an Officer Jenny where blocking the way in.

"Excuse me, can we get through?" Ash asked politely.

"No," one of the guards said.

"Uh, but we're trainers who are staying at this Pokémon Center," Ash said, trying his best to hold back his temper.

"You're a Pokémon Trainer?" One of the guards asked.

Ash looked at me and shrugged, "Yes, we both are trainers." He informed them.

"Alright, you can come through," Officer Jenny said, letting Ash through.

We walked through the lobby and down the hall to the room we were staying at, and opened the door to see Dawn and Paul sitting on the floor, leaning up against the bed.

"Do you know what's going on out there?" I asked.

"Paul won his final Frontier Print, and the press is crazy about it!" Dawn said excitedly.

"Really?" Ash asked Paul, "Awesome! Can I see it?" Ash excitedly gazed at Paul's final Frontier Print, in which signified he had beaten Palmer.

"Wow! That's really cool!" Ash said, but he quickly turned solemn, "Wait, that means you'll be leaving soon, doesn't it..." Ash said.

"No, I'm sticking around," Paul said, looking over at Dawn, who blushed.

"Really?" Ash asked, "How come?" Dawn crawled over to Paul and whispered something in his ear, causing him and wince before sighing.

"Fine," he murmured quietly, Dawn stood up and grabbed Ash by the jacket, dragging him out of the room.

"What's she doing?" I asked Paul.

"Telling him," Paul replied simply.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

"Dawn, why did you drag me out here?" I asked, we stood a little ways down the hall, away from our room.

"Ash, I need to tell you something," Dawn said, gazing at the ground.

"Okay, shoot," I told her.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

**"WHAT?"**We heard Ash exclaim from outside the room.

"Oh boy..." Paul grumbled, we heard footsteps quickly go down the hall and the door flew open, revealing a wide eye Ash, Dawn quickly follow behind him, blushing deep red.

"May! Did you know that-" Ash began to ask.

"Yeah I knew," I told him.

"Whoa! This is as crazy as me running backwards into a pole!" Ash said, completely baffled, everyone sweat-dropped.

"Uh, Ash, I have another confession to make," Dawn said.

* * *

><p><strong>I know what you all are thinking "WTH? MAY LOST! NOOOOOOO! I WILL NEVA READ THIS FIC AGAIN! <strong>Rage quit**," I know I asked who you guys wanted to win, I figured you would all pick May, I was curious if even one person would say Dawn. So as I was writing the first part of the chapter, I was writing it as if May had won, but then, this idea came to my head that I really liked, but it involved May losing to Dawn, so that should appear sometime in the future. So I'm really sorry that I had May lose, and I hope that it doesn't stop you from reading the story. **

**NEXT CHAPTER: Ash's rematch with Palmer! Should he win? Leave a review!**

**Oh, and I'm not really close to being done with this story yet, but looking into the future, I was thinking of other stories to write later on. Although I do actually have a few ideas in mind already, I was wondering if you guys had any cool ideas. If you do have an idea, send me a PM or review.**

**Until next time: Live long and prosper (Does Spock/Vulcan solute thing)**


	22. Chapter 22: Ash vs Palmer

**Chapter 22: Ash vs. Palmer**

* * *

><p><strong>So, almost every review last chapter was about how sad people where that May lost. I admit, I'm sad to, but I'll make it up to you guys. If I'm not mistaken, this event may even add a few extra chapters to the story. So that's a good thing.<strong>

**So this chapter consists of Ash's battle the last Frontier Brain, which will lead to the most epic battle since Darth Vader admitted he was Luke's father! (Okay, maybe not.)**

**Oh, some of you may be wondering why certain Pokémon haven't evolved (a.k.a. Gible and Totodile). My explanation is: they won't. I don't really want to evolve Pokémon if they haven't evolved in the anime. That's just how I write, so... Yeah, they won't be evolving, it just isn't happening. If you want to see them to evolve, go read PichuAuraGuardian18's advanceshipping fanfic .**

**Anyways, still don't Pokémon, (or Star Wars, or Star Fox, or Star Trek, or Star anything...)**

**And after another overly long author's note...**

**Read and be happy.**

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"He sure is taking his sweet time..." I said. I sat on the 94th floor of the Battle Tower with Dawn, Paul, Pikachu, and Gengar. We had taken the elevator up, which was quick and painless. Ash on the other hand, didn't want Lucario to get sick again going up the elevator. So they went up the treacherous stair case.

94 floors worth of stair case…

"He's going to be too tired to battle," Paul said, looking at his watch.

"We're... Almost... There..."

We all turned to the stair case and saw Ash and Lucario trudging to the floor we were on. They then fell over on their stomachs breathing heavily.

"Took you long enough," I told them.

"Shut up," Ash grunted, Lucario let out a growl. Everyone but Ash and Lucario laughed.

"And just think," Dawn said, "You'll get to walk back down them after the battle."

"You better be quiet or I'll make you and your boyfriend do it," Ash grumbled, slowly standing up.

"Well, well, I told you Ash would be back for a rematch," Scott said, walking up with Palmer.

"Yep, this kid doesn't give up easily, his determination is admirable," Palmer said.

"Yeah, especially when it comes to climbing stairs," Dawn said. Ash growled menacingly as she let out a giggle.

"So Ash, are you ready for your next battle?" Palmer asked. Ash suddenly perked up, as if he was suddenly given a surge of energy.

"Yep! Let's get started!" He exclaimed.

"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu chimed in, scurrying over to Ash and climbing up on his shoulder.

"Well let's-" Palmer began, but failed to finish his sentence as Ash dashed past him into the battling arena.

"Five seconds ago, he was out of energy..." Paul said, "Now he's back to normal, I will never understand that kid..."

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"Alright Ash, you ready for the rematch?" Palmer asked.

"Of course I am!" Ash said, pumping his fist, "But this time I'm gonna win!"

Palmer chuckled and said, "We'll see about that, now remember, same rules as before, no substitutes. Now... Choose your Pokémon!" Ash reached for his belt and pulled out one of his Pokéball.

"I wonder what Ash will have up his sleeve this time," Scott said.

"Gible! I choose you!" Ash exclaimed, tossing his Pokéball in the air, releasing Gible.

"Gib Gible!" Gible exclaimed, Palmer let out another laugh.

"I remember this little chum," Palmer said, "This should be a fun battle." Palmer reached for a Pokéball of his own.

"Let's go, Rhyperior!" Palmer exclaimed, tossing his ball into the air and releasing his familiar Pokémon.

"What worked before should work again," Palmer said, "Rhyperior, Rock Polish!"

The Rhyperior began to glow, powering up the move.

"Here we go again..." Paul said, rolling his eyes. I also began to worry; it was like history repeating itself.

_I hope Ash has a plan,_I thought.

"Gible! Use Roar!" Ash exclaimed. Gible threw his head back and let out a loud, ear piercing roar; we could literally see the sound waves coming out of his mouth. Rhyperior stopped Rock Polish, and retreated to his Pokéball.

"Hu?" I grunted, turning to Scott for an explanation.

Scott smirked, "That clever Ash, using Roar makes the Pokémon return to its Pokéball. Part of Palmer's main strategy is using Rhyperior as a lead, this will mess him up a bit." Scott said. Indeed, Palmer blinked a few times, surprised with what happened.

"No matter," He said, "Alright, let's go, Milotic!" Palmer exclaimed. He released his Milotic, who appeared on the battle field, ready to fight.

"Use Surf!" Palmer exclaimed.

"Gible! Dig!" Ash told Gible. Gible disappeared underground as Milotic formed a huge wave of water, the attack missed.

"Gible dodged!" Dawn exclaimed happily.

"There's a problem though..." Scott said, "The hole that Gible dug is now full of water..."

Everyone looked over at were Gible had disappeared, the hole was indeed filling up with water.

"If he doesn't get out of there fast, he'll drown," Paul said. Dawn and I gasped.

"Gible! Get out of there!" Ash said frantically, Palmer also began to look a little worried.

Suddenly, the ground underneath Milotic broke up and a wet Gible shot underneath her, flipping her over.

Everyone sighed in relief.

"Alright, great job Gible," Ash said, Milotic had recovered from the surprise attack and took a battle stance.

"Alright, Milotic, use Aqua Ring," Palmer said. Droplets of water formed around Milotic, creating three rings that surrounded it.

"What's Aqua Ring?" I asked.

"It restores health," Scott said simply. Dawn huffed and crossed her arms.

"I hate those kinds of moves," she said.

"I think Piplup can learn it," Paul said, Dawn's eyes widened and she began shaking Paul.

"Can you teach him to use it? Can you? Hu? Hu?" Dawn asked excitedly, Scott, Gengar, Lucario and I sweat-dropped.

"Water Pulse!"

"Dragon Pulse!"

The two Pokémon charged up their attacks, before firing them at each other. The attacks collided and blew up in the center of the stage, sending sparkles everywhere.

"It's beautiful..." I said in awe.

"Use Bind!" Palmer said. Milotic slithered to Gible and wrapped herself around him, forcefully squeezing him.

"Gib... Ble..." Gible moaned.

"Use Bite, Gible!" Ash said, Gible opened his mouth and bit down into Milotic, forcing her to let go.

"Try to shake him off!" Palmer exclaimed, Milotic slithered around quickly, flinging Gible here and there, trying to shake him off, but Gible wouldn't let go for anything.

"Strongest jaws in the Johto region," Ash said proudly, "All that chomping down on my head has really strengthened it."

"Slam it into the ground!" Palmer said. The Milotic nodded and flipped over, ramming Gible into the ground, making him let go. He bounced several times before coming to a stop.

"Gible! Are you okay?" Ash asked, Gible quickly got back to his feet, cracking his knuckles.

"That's the spirit!" Ash said, "Now use Rock Smash!" Gible charged forward, speedily dashing towards the Milotic, who stealthily avoided the attack.

"It's good," Dawn said.

"Yeah, but Ash can still take it!" I told her.

"Oh I'm sure he can, but he needs to figure out just how to hit that Milotic," Scott said.

"Earthquake!" Ash exclaimed, Gible leapt into the air and slammed into the ground, making it rumble. The Milotic flopped around like a Magikarp out of water.

"Milotic, get a grip and use Surf!" Palmer said, the Milotic got up and formed another big wave.

"Use Dragon Pulse to stop it!" Ash exclaimed, as the Milotic charged forward with the large wave, Gible shot a Dragon Pulse at the wave, blowing it up and sending water everywhere, even getting us wet.

"Wow, look at the field, it's completely drenched," Dawn said.

Ash took off his hat and wringed it out, water slowly dripped from it. Gible, although stopping the attack, had still taken some damage, and has breathing heavily.

"Let's wrap this up! Draco Meteor!" Ash said. Gible nodded and threw his head back charging up the attack.

"Stop it with Water Pulse!" Palmer exclaimed. Milotic shot a Water Pulse at Gible. A split second before the Water Pulse hit him, he shot the Draco Meteor into the air. The Water Pulse slammed into him, knocking him out.

"Gible is unable to battle!" Palmer said, "It looks like I win th-" he was interrupted when the room lit up and meteors fell from the sky. Milotic tried to dodge, but failed miserably and was pelted by the attack, also knocking her out. Everyone's jaws went slack.

"Even after it was knocked out," Scott began, "Gible's impressive Draco Meteor took down Milotic."

"Didn't see that coming..." Paul said. Ash walked over to Gible, who was slowly recovering.

"You did great Gible," Ash said, he adjusted Gible so it could see Palmer return Milotic.

"Gib... Ble..." Gible said weakly, satisfied with its battle. With that, Ash returned him to his Pokéball for a long, well earned rest.

"Alright, let's finish this," Ash said, pulling out his next Pokémon, "Totodile, I choose you!" his little blue water type appeared on the stage, dancing excitedly.

"I love that little dance," I said, starry eyed as I watched Totodile.

"It's so adorable!" Dawn agreed. Paul just rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Rhyperior! Let's go!" Palmer exclaimed, letting out the Rhyperior again.

"Why would he do that?" Dawn asked, "He is giving Ash a huge advantage..."

"Rhyperior is his main Pokémon," Scott said, "If you have the right strategy and a close connection with your Pokémon, it doesn't matter the typing." I nodded in agreement, now worried about what Palmer might have up his sleeve.

"Rock Polish!" Palmer exclaimed.

Oh, of course.

"We have to stop it Totodile!" Ash said, knowing the consequences, "Use Water Gun, quickly!"

Totodile threw back his head and shot a jet of water at the Rhyperior. The attack hit him and knocked him backwards, landing on his back with a loud thud.

"Looks like he stopped the attack," Paul said.

"Thank goodness," Dawn said.

"Rhyperior, Mega Horn!" Palmer exclaimed.

"Totodile! Bite!" Ash said.

The Rhyperior charged forward, as Totodile leapt into the air, but before he could bite down, He was hit by Mega Horn, sending him flying backwards. He hit the ground and slid to a halt.

"Totodile! Let's try our new move!" Ash said, Totodile nodded and began to dance around.

"Um... What is he doing?" I asked.

"Rain Dance," Paul said, "but how would it work here? We're inside a building..." it suddenly began to rain.

"I stand corrected..." Paul sighed.

"Nice thinking, with the combination of the weakness to water, and the fact the rain powers up water type moves, most of Totodile's attacks will deal massive amounts of damage," Scott said.

"Let's try Rock Wrecker!" Palmer shouted over the rain. Rhyperior formed a large rock and shot it at Totodile, who was hit head on.

"Totodile, are you okay?" Ash shouted, Totodile got back to his feet and quickly shook his head, focusing on the battle again.

"Totodile, if you're too tired to go on, it's okay, I won't make you battle," Ash said. Totodile looked at him and shook his head cracking his knuckles similar to how Gible had.

"Their sheer determination..." I said quietly.

"Use Water Gun!" Ash shouted, Totodile spat out water at Rhyperior, who rolled out of the way and avoided the attack.

"Even without the extra speed from Rock Polish, it's still so fast..." Dawn said.

"Try to get close to it!" Ash told Totodile.

"Hit it with Mega Horn!" Palmer said.

Totodile dashed towards Rhyperior, who attempted to hit it with Mega Horn, Totodile swiftly dodged it. Rhyperior tried to hit Totodile several times, missing as Totodile seemed to dance around it.

"That thing has some good moves," Scott said, I let out a laugh.

***SLAM!***

Everyone winced, "But not good enough," Paul added. Rhyperior had Totodile pinned down to the ground as Totodile struggled to get out from under him.

"Totodile! Use Bite!" Ash said, Totodile squirmed around and bit down on Rhypior's horn. But the large Pokémon didn't even flinch.

"Biting down on something hard like the horn won't do much," Paul said, "Rhyperior won't even feel the attack."

"Okay, try Water Gun!" Ash said.

"Rhyperior, stay strong!" Palmer said. Totodile shot water from his mouth, but Rhyperior put his hand in the way and blocked the attack.

"Nothing is working..." Dawn said, "What will Ash do?"

"Let's try a stronger attack! Hyrdo Pump!" Ash said.

Totodile shot a jet several times more powerful than Water Gun at Rhyperior, who couldn't block the attack and was hit full force, sending it flying through the air and landing with a loud crash on the opposite side of the field.

"Rhyperior! Are you okay?" Palmer asked.

I raised a brow, "That's the first time I've heard Palmer ask that to any of his Pokémon," I said.

"It shows that Ash has a chance of winning this," Scott said, "Palmer was able to see the sheer force of that Hydro Pump, who's power was even more effective in the rain."

Totodile wearily got to his feet still recovering from being pinned down. he shook his head and snapped into a battle stance, ready to continue fighting. Rhyperior also got to his feet, the two Pokémon glared at each other.

"Hmm, this is getting intense," Paul said, "Totodile wants to prove himself capable, but Rhyperior doesn't want to be beaten by such a small opponent."

"Rock Wrecker!" Palmer exclaimed, Rhyperior formed another rock and shot it at Totodile.

"Send it back with Water Gun!" Ash said. Totodile spat water at the flying rock; the attacks collided sending the rock back.

"Look out Rhyperior!" Palmer said, Rhyperior swung his arm and shattered the rock with a punch.

"Eep," I said, "It's strong."

"Well, at least it's not fast with Rock Polish," Dawn said.

"Rock Polish!" Palmer said.

"You and your big mouth," I told Dawn, who sweat-dropped.

"Totodile! Stop it with Head Butt!" Ash exclaimed. Totodile dashed forward and rammed its head into Rhyperior, sending it flying backwards.

"He stopped it again," Dawn said.

"Yeah, he's been getting lucky," Paul said.

"What happened to you when you fought him?" I asked him.

"He pulled off a Rock Polish, but I managed to paralyze it, that was the only reason I was able to beat it," Paul told me.

"Well what can Ash do to stop it?" I asked.

Paul shrugged, "If he continues what he's doing, he may be at risk of losing Totodile. He needs to figure out how to get close to Rhyperior without taking too much damage, and land a Hydro Pump or something on it."

"Another Rock Wrecker!" Palmer exclaimed, Rhyperior shot yet another rock at Totodile, who was unable to dodge and flew backwards. It flew backwards and flipped over on its stomach.

"Totodile! No!" Ash exclaimed.

"Is he down?" Dawn asked, leaning over the rail, trying to tell.

"I think it is," Scott said.

"Totodile is un-" Palmer began to say, but Totodile suddenly began to glow, surrounded by a blue aura.

"Is it evolving?" I asked.

"No, it doesn't look like it..." Paul said.

"It's Totodile's ability, Torrent," Scott said, everyone looked over at him, waiting for him to continue, "If Totodile's health is low, its water type attacks become stronger."

"It's like Blaziken's ability!" I said excitedly.

"But he has to be carful, this means Totodile could be knocked out with even one more attack," Paul said.

"Totodile, use Bite on Rhyperior's horn," Ash told him. Totodile looked at him confused, but decided to trust him and jumped into the biting down on Rhyperior's horn.

"Why would he do that?" Dawn asked, "He knows that doesn't work."

"Now use Hydro Pump!" Ash exclaimed. Totodile, still biting on the horn, shot a powerful jet of water right into Rhyperior's face. The Rhyperior was sent flying backwards, slamming into the ground. The Rhyperior had swirly eyes, signifying it had been knocked out.

"Rhyperier is unable it to battle," Palmer said as he returned his Pokémon. Totodile happily dance around, proud of his victory.

"Whoa," I said, "that was powerful."

"Well, with the combination of a powerful attack, rain, and Torrent, it's not much of a surprise that Rhyperior was knocked out," Scott said.

"Now Ash is ahead," I said happily.

Paul sighed and shrugged his shoulders, "Yes, but Totodile won't last much longer," Paul said, "In fact, knowing Ash, he'll probably-"

"Alright Totodile, return and take a good, long rest," Ash said.

"Return it..." Paul finished.

"Alright Pikachu, it's up to you!" Ash said. Pikachu, who had been standing on the side of field with Ash, leapt into the field, his cheeks sparking, ready to battle.

"I'm impressed Ash," Palmer said, "You have grown a lot strong since I battled you in Sinnoh." Palmer reached for his last Pokéball.

"But this battle is far from over," He said, "Dragonite, let's go!"

"Uh ho," I said.

"Ash is in for it now," Scott said, "He better have a plan to take something like Dragonite down."

Ash studied the Dagonite, as if thinking deeply. By now the rain had stopped, but everything was still wet.

"Dragonite! Hyper Beam!" Palmer said.

"Pikachu! Quick Attack!" Ash shouted. Dragonite charged up a Hyper Beam and fired it at Pikachu, who avoided the attack and dashed at Dragonite.

"Fly high, Dragonite!" Palmer said.

"This isn't good for Ash," Paul said, Dawn and I looked at him,

"Why?" I asked.

"Dragon Dance!" Palmer exclaimed, Dragonite began doing some dance, seeming to charge up energy.

"Dragon Dance builds up speed and attack," Paul said, "Ash better think fast."

"Pikachu, Thunder!" Ash exclaimed Pikachu shot the Thunder at Dragonite and hit it. He came tumbling to the ground.

***CRASH!***

He landed with a loud thump, but got back on his feet.

"Hyper Beam!" Palmer said. Dragonite threw his head back a fired it at Pikachu, who was too slow to dodge.

"It suddenly became so fast!" Dawn said.

"It looks like Ash didn't stop that Dragon Dance in time, he's in for a lot of trouble," Scott said.

_How will be able to beat it?_I thought to myself, had it been me in his shoes, I would have lost a long time ago, I couldn't help but respect Ash for his battling skills and bravery.

"Dragonite, Head Butt!" Palmer shouted.

"Pikachu! Volt Tackle!" Ash shouted.

The two Pokémon charged at each other.

"Quick Attack!" Ash said, Pikachu's Volt Tackle increased speed.

"What's he doing?" Paul asked.

"He going to use that combination he used against Deoxys," I said quietly, Scott and Dawn nodded in agreement.

"Jump and use Iron Tail!" Ash exclaimed. Pikachu leapt into the air at full speed, surrounded by electricity, and tail shimmering. With a flash, He slammed the tail into Dragonite, who was sent flying backwards into the ground.

"Whoa, that's a nice combo..." Paul said.

Dragonite rose up to his feet again, roaring loudly and in rage.

"Wow, that must be a very well trained Dragonite," Dawn said, "That attack Ash used almost knocked out a Deoxys once.

"Palmer is a master when it comes down it training Pokémon," Scott said, "It's one of his strengths."

"Dragon Claw!" Palmer said.

Dragonite dashed forward and began to speedily attack Pikachu, swiping back and forth dealing some serious damage.

"It's too bad Ash can't use Gible anymore," Scott said, "Its Draco Meteor would have done a number on Palmer's Dragonite."

"Pikachu! Use Quick Attack and get out of there!" Ash said, Pikachu dashed away from the Dragonite. "Alright now hit it!" Ash exclaimed. Pikachu made a U turn and tried to hit Dragonite, but it spun out of the way, dodging the attack.

"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash exclaimed. Pikachu charges up some electricity and shot it at the Dragonite, who flew out of the range of the attack.

"Again!"

"PikaCHHUU!"

And he missed...

"Again!"

"PikaCHHUU!"

And he missed...

"Again!"

"PikaCHHUU!"

And he missed...

"The Dragonite is just too fast now," Scott said, "Ash needs to find a way to either match the speed, or use it against Dragonite."

"Trick Room would be handy right about now," I said.

"Head Butt, Dragonite!" Palmer said, the Dragonite flew forward with his head down towards Pikachu.

"Get on Dagonite as he passes!" Ash told Pikachu. Pikachu leapt into the air and flipped, grabbing Dragonite and riding on its back.

"Thunderbolt!" Ash exclaimed.

"PikaCHUUUU!" Pikachu shouted, Dragonite let put a roar as he was attacked.

"Dragonite!" Palmer shouted, "Get Pikachu off!" Dragonite nodded and began to spin rapidly trying the get Pikachu off.

"Another Thunder Bolt!" Ash exclaimed, Pikachu lit up and attacked Dragonite again. With the combination of the spinning and lightning, it an electric tornado formed.

"Alright Pikachu, let go of Dragonite and get out of there," Ash said. Pikachu let go and was flung off Dragonite, who was not as lucky. It got trapped in the electric vortex and was spun around violently.

"Dragonite! No!" Palmer exclaimed. Ash got a firm grip on the ground, and held onto his hat, as to not lose his footing. Dragonite was thrown from the tornado and fell to the ground, and slowly got back to its feet.

"Roost," Palmer said. Dragonite began to glow, folding its wings and seeming to focus its energy. When the glowing stopped, Dragonite look refreshed and ready to continue battling.

"B-b-but," Dawn stuttered.

"Roost regenerates a Pokémon's health," Paul said.

"That's such an unfair move," Dawn replied, huffing and folding her arms.

"I think your Togikiss can learn it," Paul muttered with a smirk. Dawn's eye widened and she began shaking him again.

"Really? Can you teach her? Please?" Dawn asked. We all sweat-dropped again.

"Pikachu, Agility!" Ash exclaimed. We all turned back to the battle.

"Pikachu knows Agility?" Paul asked, "Why didn't he use it before?" We all shrugged our shoulders. Pikachu appeared and disappeared all over the stage, confusing Dragonite.

"Iron Tail!" Ash said. Pikachu appeared next to Dragonite and slammed his tail into it.

"A direct hit!" Dawn said.

"Yeah, now that Pikachu used Agility, his speed has been raised and he will be able to keep up with Dragonite," Scott said.

"Quick Attack!" Ash exclaimed.

"Fly up high and use Hyper Beam," Palmer said. Dragonite shot up into the air, out of Pikachu's reach and fired a Hyper Beam at him. The Hyper Beam came down and hit him.

"Pikachu! Bring it down with Thunder!" Ash said. Pikachu nodded and sent volts of electricity at Dragonite, hitting it and sending him tumbling to the ground. At this point, both Pokémon looked very tired and were breathing heavily.

"Dragon Rage!" Palmer exclaimed.

"Volt Tackle!" Ash shouted.

Dragonite's eye's began to glow and he was surrounded by an orange aura, he shot forward at Pikachu, who also has charging towards him, surrounded by electricity.

***BOOM!***

The two Pokémon collided with such force it lit the room with a flash of light. Dust rose from the ground and covered the battle field, concealing the two Pokémon.

***Thud***

We heard something within the dust pile fall to the ground.

***Thud***

Another Pokémon fell, the dust subsided revealing Pikachu and Dragonite, both knocked out on the ground. Ash and Palmer frowned.

"So... Who won?" I asked, turning to Scott, who shrugged in response.

"Well Ash," Palmer began, "I hate to do this, but we need to have another round to determine the winner." My shoulders slumped, why couldn't he just give Ash the print? We all knew he deserved it. Ash nodded and walked over to Pikachu, picking up him and thanking him for a job well done. He walked over to where we were sitting and placed Pikachu in my lap.

"So who are you going to use for the battle?" Scott asked. Ash looked at Gengar and Lucario, who both stared back, waiting for him to reply.

"I'm going to go with Gengar," he said, "Lucario is still tired from scaling to stairs to battle field." Lucario nodded with understanding and Ash returned to the field with Gengar.

"You choose Gengar? Alright then, Go, Heatran!" Palmer exclaimed, throwing his Pokéball into the air and releasing his Heatran.

"Whoa, isn't Heatran a Legendary Pokémon?" Dawn asked, Scott smiled and nodded.

"Yep, Palmer caught one over at Stark Mountain in Sinnoh," Scott said.

"Why didn't he ever use Heatran before? If it's legendary it must be powerful," Paul said, unable to take his eyes off the Heatran.

"I don't think Palmer likes to use it," Scott said, I looked at him strangely.

"You see, he doesn't like to abuse Heatran's power, and will only use it if he sees fit," Scott said.

"Alright Gengar," Ash said, "This will probably be your toughest battle yet, but I know you can do it!"

"Gengar!" Gengar said, cracking his knuckles and bouncing on his toes.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu cheered.

"Alright, Heatran! Flash Cannon!" Palmer said. Heatran opened its mouth and fired a shiny silver beam at Gengar.

"Dodge and use Shadow Punch!" Ash said. Gengar floated into the air, flying away.

"Don't give up Heatran!" Palmer said, "Keep trying to hit it!" Heatran craned its head and turned around, attempting to hit Gengar as he flew around the room. Gengar threw a Shadow Punch at the Heatran, hitting it and stopping the Flash Cannon.

"Alright!" I said, "Gengar landed to first blow!"

"Don't get too excited yet," Scott said, "Remember, Heatran is extremely powerful, this battle is far from over."

"Heatran, Stone Edge," Palmer said. Heatran became surrounded by two rings of glowing orbs. The orbs stopped glowing and appeared to be sharp rocks. The rocks stopped orbiting Heatran and flew at Gengar, hitting him and knocking him to the ground.

"Bite!" Palmer said. Heatran made its way to the Gengar lying on the ground and bit down on him. Gengar let out a yelp and comically shot into the air, like a cartoon character stepping on something sharp.

"Shadow Ball!" Ash shouted, Gengar charged up a large ball and fired it down at Heatran. The ball slammed into it landing a direct hit.

"Magma Storm!" Palmer said. Heatran slowly backed up and fired bright, hot flames at Gengar, who was completely consumed by it.

"GENGAR!" Gengar shouted in pain. Like a comet burning in the atmosphere, Gengar shot out of the flames, flying around aimlessly until he slammed face first into a wall, putting the flames out.

I winced, it looked like it had hurt, Gengar slid down the wall, face still up against it before falling over on its back. He got back up to his feet and made his way back to the battle field, but he was twisting and twirling around like a Spinda. Gengar reached the field and fell on his face. He got back up and shook his head, snapping back to his senses.

"That was interesting," Scott said, "Either the Magma Storm really did a number on Gengar, or he's a clown."

"Or both," Dawn said.

"Are you okay Gengar?" Ash asked, Gengar smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

"That's the spirit, try another Shadow Ball!" Ash said.

"Block with Flash Cannon," Palmer told Heatran. Gengar formed a Shadow Ball and threw it at Heatran, who fired a Flash Cannon and broke right through the Shadow Ball.

"Look out!" Ash said. Gengar spun out of the way barely avoiding the attack.

"The Heatran's power is astounding," Paul said, "Its only weakness is it's speed, I've been watching it, Heatran barely moves from the spot he's in, and when he does, he move sluggishly."

"So if Ash found a way to use its slowness to his advantage, he could win, right?" I asked Paul, who shrugged.

"It's hard to say, unless Ash comes up with a good plan, he may never win," Paul said, "Gengar is already looking tired, the Magma Storm really hurt it."

"Another Magma Storm!" Palmer exclaimed. Heatran fired another Magma Storm at Gengar, who swiftly dodged it and flew behind Heatran, who slowly turned around, to face him."

"Over Heat!" Palmer said. Heatran charged up the attack and fired it at Gengar, sending him flying backwards and embedding him into the wall.

"Gen... Gar..." Gengar muttered, peeling off the wall and falling face first onto the ground. Everyone sat for a minute, waiting to see if he would get up...

... But he didn't...

…

"I'm sorry Ash," Palmer said, "I really was hoping you would win, but it looks like your Gengar wasn't trained enough, he wasn't ready for the battle..."

... He wasn't ready for the battle...

... Ready for the battle...

... The battle...

…

Palmer's words echoed through the room as Ash fell to his knees. I knew how he felt, I got out of my seat, Pikachu still my arms, and walked down to the battle field. I slowly walked over to Ash, setting Pikachu down and kneeling next to him.

"It's like..." Ash began, "Brandon all over again..." I rubbed his back, hoping to comfort him, like he had done for me.

"I understand how you feel," I told him, "To be-"

"**GENGAR**!"

My and Ash's head snapped up to see Gengar back on the battle field, standing on one foot like a ninja.

"Gengar?" Ash asked, rising back to his feet.

"Looks like Gengar isn't though yet," Palmer said, "If it's a battle he wants, a battle he will get."

Ash smiled "Alright! Let's do this!" With a relieved smile, Pikachu and I returned to our seats.

"That is one determined little Gengar," Scott said.

"Even after being tossed around like that, he still wants to fight," Paul said in disbelief.

"Alright Gengar, let's try to finish this quick!" Ash said, "Hypnosis!" Gengar raised his arms and shot yellow rings at Heatran, who was too slow to dodge.

"Good, now Dream Eater!" Ash said. Gengar nodded and flew through Heatran, restoring health and also dealing damage. Heatran quickly woke up and shook its head.

"Gengar looks refreshed," Dawn said. I looked over at Gengar, how indeed look as good as new.

"I'm surprised that Dream Eater didn't knock Heatran out," I said, "Typically it knocks out a Pokémon."

"Flash Cannon!" Palmer exclaimed. Heatran fired another Flash Cannon which Gengar dodged.

"Ash! Look Out!" Palmer exclaimed. The Flash Cannon missed Gengar and was flying at Ash.

"Oh no!" I exclaimed, Pikachu covered his eyes. In a flash purple, Gengar flew at Ash and knocked him out of the way, but getting hit by the attack himself. Gengar flew backwards into the wall with a crash.

"Gengar!" Ash exclaimed, running over to his Pokémon, who was slowly getting up. Ash knelt down by him and smiled.

"I owe you big time, how about a big plate of fries after this?" Ash asked, Gengar smiled and hugged him. Ash whispered something into Gengar's ear. The Shadow Pokémon nodded and the two returned to the battle field.

"Sorry about that Ash," Palmer said, "I didn't mean to almost hit you."

Ash nodded with understanding, "It's okay, now if you'll excuse me, I have a print to win, Gengar, proceed with the plan!" Ash said. Gengar shot into the air and flew behind Heatran, quickly forming a Shadow Ball and chucking it at him before Heatran could even turn all the way around to face him.

"Again!" Ash exclaimed. Gengar flew around Heatran so that he was behind him and fired another Shadow Ball.

This process was repeated several times until Heatran was flipped onto its back, revealing it's surprisingly soft looking stomach.

"That's what Ash wanted all along," Paul said, "Using Heatran's slowness to attack from behind until finally flipping it over, revealing its weak spot.

"Thunder Punch!" Ash exclaimed. Gengar jumped into the air towards Heatran with his Fist beginning to spark. He slammed his fist into the Heatran's stomach. Sparks and lightning flew everywhere, but when it died down, it was obvious to see...

... Heatran was knocked out...

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu said happily, jumping from my lap and racing towards Ash. I shrugged and got up, running to Ash myself.

"Gengar! We won!" Ash said excitedly, hugging Gengar, "You were awesome out there!" Pikachu climbed up Ash's leg and perched himself on his shoulder. Ash laughed and scratched Pikachu's head.

He almost fell over when I hugged him, "You did great!" I told him, he laughed and hugged me back.

"Gen?"

I let go of Ash and hugged Gengar.

"Yes, you were great too," I told Gengar, who also smiled and hugged back.

Palmer returned Heatran and walked over to us, pulling out a slip of paper. "That was a great battle Ash," Palmer said, "I guess I was wrong, Gengar was ready for the battle." Palmer gently scratched Gengar's head, earning him a chuckle.

"Here is your print, Ash. You've earned it," Palmer said, handing over the gold piece of paper. Ash took it and looked at it. I glanced over his shoulder and looked at it as well.

Like all frontier prints, the frontier brain was on the right side, in this case Palmer. And on the left was a picture of Ash, Pikachu, Gengar, and Lucario.

By now, Scott, Dawn, Paul, and Lucario had strolled over as well.

"Congratulations, Ash," Scott said.

"Thanks, I finally won the final Print," Ash said. Scott, Palmer, Paul, as well as Dawn chuckled.

"What?" Ash asked.

"Well," Scott said, "I wouldn't say this is the 'last' frontier facility of the Johto Region."

* * *

><p><strong>Oooh snaps!<strong>

**And just when you thought this story was gonna be over with. And I still have so much more to cover! A while back I would have said the story is close to finished, but I now have so many ideas, I have to add them in! So you still have a lot more to look forward to.**

**So who do you guys think the Final Frontier Brain will be? (Hint: It is not an OC, manga character, or game character; it is someone from the anime) I already know who I'm going to use, but if someone can guess it correctly I might tell them...**

**... Maybe...**

**Anyways, thank you all who have read and those who have reviewed. Be sure to keep those reviews coming. Because I will name them George, and I will hug them and squeeze them. (Anyone? Looney Toons, baby)**

**Anyways, stay tuned, that's all for now.**


	23. Chapter 23: Armageddon

**Chapter 23: Armageddon**

* * *

><p><strong>Well I'll say right off the bat this is a bit of a darker chapter, so be warned. It is an important chapter in this story, in fact, it probably is one of the top most important chapters. You'll understand why when you read it.<strong>

**Several parts of this were inspired by Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon**

**Congratulations to people who correctly guessed who the final frontier brain is, sorry but I have no prizes. For those who don't like spoilers don't read the reviews.**

**I don't own Pokémon, but I do have a lawyer. :D**

**Read and be happy.**

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

Ash took a step back and cocked his head.

"So... There's another Frontier Facility?" He asked, Scott nodded.

"Who's the Frontier Brain?" Ash asked. Scott took a deep breath, as if about to say who, when suddenly there was a rumble, making the building shake.

*****RUMMMMMMMMMMMBLE*****

...

"Uh, what was that?" Dawn asked nervously, quickly looking around.

...

***RUMMMMMMMMMMMBLE***

...

***BOOM!***

We heard a ear blasting explosion, knocking us all to our feet, except for Gengar, who was floating.

"W-w-what's going on?" I asked fanatically.

Palmer quickly got up and dashed out of the arena, everyone followed him out. He ran down the hall to the wall completely made of clear glass, we all caught up and looked out the windows.

Smoke…

Fire…

Explosions…

Blackthorn City was on fire. Above it, tons of helicopters flew over. Some we could recognize as police helicopters, others were-

"TEAM ROCKET!" Ash exclaimed, indeed, the majority of the helicopters had big, red Rs on them.

"Oh my Arceus..." Dawn said. Below, thousands of people ran around in fear, some... Even dead…

*****RUMMMMMMMMMMMBLE*****

Suddenly, the Battle Tower began to rumble again. The building jolted, Dawn and I let out screams.

"The building it falling over!" Paul exclaimed. Sure enough, gravity began to shift; the building was beginning to tip.

"What do we do?" I exclaimed, "We're on the 94th floor!"

"Run!" Palmer shouted, we began running back to the arena as if going up a slope as furniture fell over and objects fell off the walls.

The building jolted again.

I screamed as I lost my footing and began sliding down back to the windows.

"MAY! NO!" Ash exclaimed, lunging towards me and beginning to slide down after me. I slammed into the window, breaking right through it.

And began to fall…

I let out the loudest scream I could muster but stopped short when something grabbed my arm. I looked up and saw Ash dangling from the broken window frame with one hand, holding onto me with another hand. Pikachu clung to his shoulder and had buried his face in his trainer's neck.

"May... Don't look down..." Ash grunted.

"Ash don't let go of me... Please don't let go... Please..." I began to say frantically.

"May... I won't let go... I promise..." Ash said, looking me in the eye.

I felt gravity shift as the building slowly begin to lean forwards again. Several windows shattered as furniture began to fall though the windows. I could hear Dawn scream from inside the building.

"A-Ash..." I stuttered, mind racing as shards of glass fell past me, scraping my already scraped up arms.

"Yeah May," Ash grunted, gritting his teeth as he tried his best to continue clinging to the building.

*****RUMMMMMMMMMMMBLE*****

The building shook, leaning even more forward.

"Pika Pika," Pikachu mumbled, head still buried in Ash's neck.

"Incase... We don't make it through this..." I began to say, taking a deep breath.

"I..."

...

"Ash, I love you..."

Ash's eyes widened, face expression completely changing, but I couldn't read it.

"That's why I came with you through Johto..." I told him, "That's why Dawn and I fought, that's why I didn't follow my rivals, that's why I stayed after that last contest... I love you..."

"M-May..." Ash said, not taking his eyes off me.

*****RUMMMMMMMMMMMBLE*****

...

***CRACK!***

We suddenly were jerked and Ash couldn't keep a grip on the building, we began to fall, The building coming down over us.

I let out another scream as Ash yelled, he grabbed a hold of me and I grabbed onto him.

At least if we went, we would do it...

... Together...

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

We watch May crash through the window and Ash and Pikachu follow her.

"NO!" I exclaimed, Lucario tried to lung to his trainer, but Paul grabbed him and stopped him.

"Alakazam!" Palmer exclaimed, throwing a Pokéball in the air, "Teleport these guys to the top of the building!"

"What about you?" Scott asked.

"I got to help Ash and May! You take the others to the chopper!" Palmer said.

"I'm staying here!" I demanded, "I have to-" but I was stopped short when everything blurred and the scenery around me changed, suddenly, I could see the sky, the city, the fires.

"Get to the chopper!" Paul demanded, pulling me to a helicopter that was beginning to slide towards the side of the building. Everyone got on as Scott began flipping switches and started the helicopter up.

"It's do or die," Scott mumbled as he franticly turned the helicopter on. I felt it slide towards the edge as the building tilted.

"Hurry up!" I exclaimed, looking over the helicopter and saw it was already partly over the edge.

"I'm trying! I'm trying! Give me a minute!" Scott said as he grabbed the handle to control the helicopter.

"A minute 'aint gonna cut it!" Paul shouted. The helicopter began to slide off the edge of the building, I let out a scream and grabbed Paul.

"Take off!" Scott exclaimed. I didn't feel the helicopter fall; I opened an eye and saw that we were airborne. I let out a sigh of relief and fell to my knees.

I looked around and saw Paul, Scott, Palmer's Alakazam, and Lucario all in the helicopter.

"Where's Gengar?" I asked

* * *

><p><strong>Palmer's POV<strong>

In a flash of light, I watched my Alakazam, Scott, Paul, Dawn, and Ash's Lucario disappear.

"GENGAR!" Gengar exclaimed frantically, dashing through the window.

_Why didn't he go with them?_I thought, but I shrugged and also ran towards the window, tossing a Pokéball into the air.

"Tropius, let's go!" I exclaimed. Tropius and I dove out of the window and into a free fall. I grabbed a hold of Tropius, clinging to him tightly. The tower began to fall and I noticed Ash, May, and Pikachu all falling below, tightly clinging to each other.

_We're not going to catch them in time,_I realized, I looked down at the Gengar also falling below me, flying towards the three other falling figures.

"**GENGAR!**" I shouted at the top of my lungs, he slightly turned, looking up at me, "**USE CONFUSION ON THEM!**" Gengar nodded and his eyes began to glow.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

I held onto Ash as tightly as I could, refusing to let him go.

Suddenly, it felt as if we were slowing down, I opened an eye and noticed we were glowing. The building falling above us quickly was catching up with us. Suddenly, something grabbed Ash, jerking me away, but he kept a tight hold of my arm. I looked up and saw Ash dangling upside-down while Palmer held onto his pant leg as he flew on a Tropius.

Ash let out a yelp as we quickly flew out from under the falling building, almost ramming into another one.

"Hold on!" Palmer exclaimed, Tropius took a sharp turn. My toes were inches from the walls of the building we almost collided into.

"PIIIIIIIKAAAA!" I heard Pikachu exclaim, not enjoying the upside-down ride as he dangled from Ash's shoulder.

"I'm not letting go, May!" Ash assured me.

"Gen!"

I craned my head and saw Gengar flying by next to us. He extended a hand to me, which I reached out and grabbed. With much effort, he began to lift me and eventually rose me up to where I could reach Tropius. I quickly grabbed onto the flying Pokémon and pulled myself up. With the help of Gengar, I pulled Pikachu and Ash up, who sat in-between me and Palmer.

"Hold on!" Palmer exclaimed. Without thinking, I wrapped my arms around Ash and hugged him tightly. Tropius dove almost vertically suddenly banking and flying right above the ground coming in for a landing. Tropius came to a stop and everyone hopped off. I looked around, all the buildings around us were either rubble or on fire.

"This is a disaster," I said.

"Pika..." Pikachu agreed.

Palmer turned to me and Ash, "You two don't move. I'm going to get to the bottom of this!" Palmer said, running off.

I looked at Ash and blushed. When I had admitted I liked him, I honestly thought that I was going to die, that we both were going to die. Now I had to face him with this. But I didn't get the chance...

The wind began to blow wildly and a huge aircraft with a big R flew above us. It wasn't a normal helicopter, much more complex and high-tech, but the odd part was the oddly shaped cannon hanging on the bottom.

_Wait..._I began to think.

_Deja vu..._

_The dream..._

My eyes widened _the dream!_This was exactly the place I had been standing during the dream, it matched perfectly.

***BOOM!***

***BOOOM!***

***BOOOOM!***

I looked up at the Team Rocket aircraft again. The cannon charged up and shot odd beams that looked like electricity, fire, and water combined. I looked around and saw several buildings explode.

The blur, that seemed to be a Pokémon, from my dream appeared, dashing around madly, avoiding the explosions. Ash pulled out a Pokéball from his belt.

"Ash, look out!" I exclaimed, knowing what would happen next. Sure enough, there was an explosion in between us, knocking me backwards onto my back.

"Oof!" I exclaimed. I looked around, the blur was gone and the Team Rocket ship was flying away. _They must be after whatever that blur was,_I thought to myself.

"Gengar!"

I turned and saw Gengar floating over to Ash, who was lying on the ground unconscious.

"No!" I exclaimed, hurrying over to Ash. His clothes were burnt and torn, and I saw blood dripping from his side.

"Gengar Gen Gengar!" Gengar said franticly, shaking Ash trying to wait him up. Pikachu also began shaking him, trying to do the same.

"Ash..." I murmured, I put my ear up to his mouth, listening for his breath.

No sound.

I laid two fingers on his wrists, checking for a pulse.

No pulse.

I laid my hand down at his heart.

No thumping.

"N-no..." I said, "no, no! NO!" I shook Ash roughly.

"Ash! Wake up! Please!" I exclaimed, "Don't die! Don't die! I need you!" It was no use, Ash didn't even flinch.

"Please..."

I began to sob, Pikachu and Gengar were already crying. I grabbed them and hugged them both tightly, holding them close.

I couldn't believe it, he was died.

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

Scott landed the helicopter, we all quickly got off, Lucario hadn't seemed to enjoy the ride.

"Scott!"

We turned and saw Palmer running towards us. His Alakazam approached him, which he thanked for the help before returning it.

"Where's Ash and May?" I asked him.

"They're fine," Palmer assured me, "Caught them as they were falling from the building."

Suddenly, several buildings exploded. I looked around and noticed an odd blur racing around, going too fast to keep up with, it seemed to be a Pokémon using Extreme Speed.

"Look out!" Paul exclaimed, pushing me and knocking me to the ground. Where I had been standing was an explosion. My eyes widened with shock, scrambling away from the now blackened area.

"Look!" Scott shouted, pointing upward. In the air above us, a large Team Rocket aircraft flew, it had an odd looking cannon that shot weird colors rays, and when the rays touched something, there would be an explosion.

Suddenly there was an odd blast.

"They hit the blur!" I exclaimed, the blur that had been moving so fast was hit by the attack, but wasn't killed. It was slammed through a building, which crumbled over it, burying it in rumble. The large aircraft landed and several Team Rocket grunts ran out, surrounding the crumbled building.

"What are they going to do?" Paul asked. The grunts all called out Pokémon, as if expecting some monster. Suddenly, in a flash of bright light, the crumbled rubble flew everywhere and an odd looking Pokémon emerged from it.

"Say, if I'm not mistaken, that's the legendary Mewtwo!" Scott said in disbelief, he, Palmer, Paul, and Lucario all gaped at it.

"It's a rare sight, considering there is only one," Palmer said, "As far as I know, almost nobody has seen a Mewtwo."

The Team Rocket grunts started shouting different attacks to their Pokémon, who open fired on Mewtwo. He dodged most of the attacks but was hit pretty hard by a shadow ball. In another flash, Mewtwo shot away, disappearing. The grunts exchanged glances before hurrying back to the aircraft, which took off again.

"What do we do?" I asked, turning to Palmer.

"Find somewhere to hide," Palmer said, pointing to Paul, Me, and Lucario, "All of you."

We began running down the street trying to find a place to hide that wasn't burning. We journeyed into the center of the town, finding it was less damaged. Quickly, we all hid inside a bakery, which had its doors broken open and was completely abandoned.

"This will do," Paul said, as we walked behind the counter and into the kitchen.

"So now what?" I asked, "We just sit here and wait?" Paul took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"No, **you **just sit here and wait," he said.

"You're going to leave me here?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm going to go out there, and try to help stop this madness," Paul said, I grabbed his arm and pulled him towards me, hugging him tightly.

"D-don't leave me here..." I muttered, refusing to let him go.

"I have to; I can't just let the city burn!" Paul demanded; I hugged him tighter.

"Than take me with you!" I told him, he squirmed out of my arms.

He looked at me for moment before turning away. "No," was all he said.

"Why not?" I demanded to know, Paul spun around and looked me in the eyes.

"It's too dangerous," he said, "Now stay **here**!"

"I'm coming with you!"

"No you're **not**!"

"Yes I am, I'm not staying here by myself!"

"You're not! You are with Lucario!"

"He's a Pokémon!"

"All the better!"

"I can't stay here!"

"I'm not going to risk losing you!"

I looked at him surprised, I never expected him to say that. Paul sighed and ran his hand through his hair, before quickly spinning around so his back was facing me again.

"J-just stay here," he muttered, as he began to walk off, I grabbed his hand, stopping him in his tracks.

"Paul..." I began, Paul sighed again, and began to turn around.

"I told you n-" I cut him off by placing my lips over his. We broke apart and he took a few steps backwards.

"You're not going to convince me like that this time," Paul said, I giggled and shook my head.

"I wasn't trying to convince you," I told him, "now go."

"Really? Because you just said-"

"**Go**, before I change my mind..." I told him. He smirked and nodded, before turning and leaving. I sighed and sat down behind the counter, leaning against it and out of sight of anybody who would look through the front.

"Rrmm," Lucario grunted before sitting down by me. I smiled and ruffled the hair on his forehead.

"Crazy, isn't it?" I asked him, he grunted and nodded. Suddenly, Lucario's ears perked up and he grabbed my arm, pulling me into the kitchen at the back of the bakery.

"What are you-?" I began to ask, but he slapped a paw over my mouth.

_"Check through the building and bring anyone you find back..."_

Someone else was in the bakery. My eyes widened and Lucario nodded, uncovering my mouth. I looked around and saw a back door, motioning for Lucario to follow; I began to silently creep over to the door.

_"Nobody out here, check the back."_

_"Yes sir!"_

We quickened our pace and broke into a run, opening the backdoor just as the grunt entered saw us.

"Hey you! Stop!" He exclaimed, Lucario chucked an Aura Sphere at the man, who blocked it with the door. We dashed out the backdoor and through the back lot.

_"Quick! They're escaping!"_

I looked behind me and saw two Team Rocket grunts chasing after us. Lucario suddenly stopped and spun around, forming a light stick.

"No! Lucario! Let's go!" I told him, the grunts stopped and grabbed Pokéballs.

"Rrrmmff," Lucario grunted, signaling me to run.

"But-" I began to protest.

**"RRRR!" **Lucario growled fiercely.

I spun around and ran.

"You go after the girl! I'll take this thing!" I heard a grunt say,

"Yes Sir!" Another grunt responded. I looked behind and saw the grunt was quickly gaining on me. I let out a scream when the grunt tackled me to the ground, pinning me down.

"You're coming with me..." the grunt began to say, when a shadow loomed over him and I.

"... Brat..." He finished, fear now laced in his voice. I craned my neck and looked up, and saw the Legendary Mewtwo glaring down at the man. The Mewtwo clapped its oddly shaped hands together, making a flash and sending the grunt flying backwards into a wall. The grunt groaned and fell unconscious. I wordlessly scrambled to my feet, gazing at Mewtwo, not quite sure what to say.

"Um... Thank you," I said, the Mewtwo floated by me and approached the battle that Lucario was locked into. He was down on his knees, breathing heavily.

"Had enough yet, runt?" The grunt mocked, "I'll b-" he was cut off when he saw Mewtwo, who formed a Shadow Ball and chucked it at the grunt with such amazing force, the grunt flew though the air and through the wall of the bakery. Lucario slowly got up, holding its shoulder.

Mewtwo and Lucario approached me. I scratched the back of my head, "Wow, thanks a lot Mew... Uh, Mewt - Mewtoe - Mewtwo, Mewtwo!" I bowed slightly, "Thanks so much Mewtwo." I said.

"You're welcome," the Mewtwo said. I did a double take; I didn't even see his mouth move.

"How do you-?" I began to ask, but was cut off.

"No time... follow," Mewtwo said. I exchanged glances with Lucario, who shrugged and followed Mewtwo. He appeared be headed into another abandoned building, this one was two stories tall. I followed the legendary Pokémon into the building and saw it float up the stairs. I again, followed him up with Lucario.

"So... What are you doing up here?" I asked.

Mewtwo looked at me for a second, as if looking into my mind and reading my thoughts.

"Hiding," was all Mewtwo said, I cocked my head.

"But you're so powerful," I said, "I've just saw you effortlessly send a grown man into a building without touching him, why hide?"

Mewtwo sighed, "I'm healing..." I noticed for the first time a large mark on Mewtwo's shoulder, it occasionally sparked with a dark looking electricity.

"How-?" I began.

"Shadow Ball," Mewtwo said, "Cursed super effective moves..."

I stood there silently; I still had so many questions but wondered which I should ask first.

"Why did you come out of hiding to save Lucario and I?" I asked, finally picking my question.

Mewtwo glanced at Lucario before looking back at me, "I sensed good in you."

I blinked a few times and sighed, "That's a surprise..." I looked at Mewtwo, who seemed to be focusing his energy on healing, so I just continued.

"You see, I have been a jerk lately," I sighed, "I treated a friend of mine like dirt, I treated her like trash! All over-"

"- A boy?" Mewtwo asked. I looked at him in disbelief, "I can read minds too." Mewtwo told me.

"Oh, so anyways..." I began, twiddling her thumbs, "I have been beginning to feel bad about it... And... It just surprised me that you still saw good, despite all the junk I've done... I mean... I made her pee herself in front of her crush! What kind of-" I stopped short when I noticed Mewtwo had his eyes closed and appeared to be sleeping.

"Hey! I was talking!" I exclaimed stomping over to Mewtwo and tapping his shoulder. My touch must have woke him up and startled him. With a flash of light Mewtwo made, I went flying backwards.

"S-sorry," I said sheepishly. Mewtwo just rolled his eyes and closed them again. I huffed and sat back down.

"You know, I've done a lot of... 'Junk'... As well," Mewtwo said, not opening his eyes, "Does that make me bad?" My eyes widened and I frantically shook her head, not wanting to give him the wrong idea and tick him off.

"No! You're a good Pokémon," I said, but I suddenly caught onto the point Mewtwo was making.

"Oh... I get it..." I said.

"Dwelling on the past will do you no good," Mewtwo said, "It's the actions you take in the future that make you what you are." I nodded at his words of wisdom, being careful of what to think of them, being Mewtwo could read my thoughts.

"So... Why are you here in Blackthorn City?" I asked, hoping to change the subject, "This is where the danger is."

"Exactly..." Mewtwo told me, "I came here to protect. Unfortunately I fell into my creator's trap, now I'm stuck here being chased by those no-good men."

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

I knelt down by Ash's body with Pikachu and Gengar, still crying.

"May!"

I looked up and saw Paul running up to me; I sniffed and wiped away a few tears.

"What hap-" He began to ask, but looked down at Ash's lifeless body, Paul's face lost a little color. "Oh, holy Arceus... Is he?" he asked, stepping back. I managed to nod before bursting into tears again. Pikachu was sadly rubbing his cheek up against Ash's. Gengar was still balling on Ash's chest.

Paul took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair. He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, as if about to burst into rage mode. I stood and hugged him, crying into his chest, Paul was completely thrown off guard, almost falling over, but eventually hugged me back.

"I-I'll never see him again..." I muttered, "n-never..." Paul sighed and pulled back.

He looked around, scratching the back of his head, "follow me, I'll take you to where I have Dawn hiding." He began to walk away, but I didn't budge.

"You're just going to leave Ash's body here?" I asked, sadly looking down at it.

Paul sighed sadly, "Yes, I can't have the extra weight..." he began walking again. I looked down at the body.

"Well I can," I muttered, I began, trying to pick up Ash's body, but it was heavier than I expected.

Paul turned around and watched me struggle to lift Ash. He looked around, sighed again, and walked over to me.

"Grab the feet," he grumbled, I lifted Ash's feet from the front while Paul lifted Ash from the shoulders. With a frustrated grunt, he began to guide me, Pikachu, and Gengar to where he had left Dawn and Lucario. But when we reached the bakery they were supposed to be hiding in, we found that there was no one there.

"Where are they?" he asked frustrated, "I left them right here!" he set Ash down and looked around.

"There's a huge hole in the wall and a knocked out grunt on the ground," I heard Paul say from the kitchen; "I don't think they've been captured, but where would they be?"

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

... Ketchum...?

...

Ketchum?

...

**"KETCHUM!**"

My eyes snapped open and I shot up into an upright position. I quickly shut my eyes again, and covered them with my face, blinded by a bright light of some sorts.

"What's going on!" I exclaimed, still covering my eyes.

"Rise..."

I stood up and rose to my feet, but refused to uncover my eyes, "Where am I?" I asked, waiting for a reply.

"Fate had taken a strange, but necessary route..."

"What happened?" I asked frantically, "I-I remember a-an explosion... It hurt... But the pain disappeared and now I'm here." Suddenly, realization gave me a hard slap in the face.

"AM I DEAD?" I exclaimed, "Where's Pikachu! And May and Gengar!"

**"SILENCE!"**

I fell over on my butt, toppling over by the sheer power of the voice. Still covering my eyes, I felt my belt. Gible and Totodile's Pokéballs were also gone.

"Young one, there is a growing force threatening to take over the world..."

I stood up, blindly walking around, trying to find anything solid, but all I could feel was the ground below me.

"You must destroy them before they grow to be unstoppable..."

I stopped looking around, "I have to defeat them?" I asked.

"They have a powerful weapon, using the powers created by Ho-oh itself..."

"Powers made by Ho-oh? Are you talking about Entei, Suicune, and Raikou?" I asked, beginning to blinding walk around again to find the source of the voice.

"I have but one valuable piece of advice for you that may save the world..."

I stopped walking; not wanting to miss what this mysterious voice was going to say.

"There are few forces capable off defeating the monstrosity that is about to be created..."

I scratched my head, not understanding how that was supposed to help.

"When force you need turns against you, use your special gift..."

"My special gift? Do you mean my special aura?" I asked. The blinding light grew brighter, shining into my eyes even though I was blocking it.

"It's the only way to defeat the monster that's coming..."

And everything went dark.

* * *

><p><strong>This is that sad point in a plot where all hope seems lost. But this story is far from over. People to see, places to go, food to eat.<strong>

**Anyways, now you know why this chapter is so important. But I'll pursue that later.**

**Heh, when Paul says "Get to the chopper!" I really, really, REALLY wanted to use a meme reference and have him say, "Get to da choppa!"**

**But I refrained myself :(**

**Do you think that Ash dying was tacky? It was kind of a spur of the moment thing. I wasn't so sure about it, but then I got to that point of no return. I'm kind of curious about what you guys think for future reference.**

**And before you ask, yeah, that thing talking to Ash was Acreus. I hope you enjoyed the cheesy prophetic words he used, what do you think they mean?**

**Anyways, leave a review, those are always fun (Unless you haters gonna hate) Send me ideas for future fanfictions if you don't want to write it yourself.****  
><strong>

**Preview of next chapter:  
><strong>

_Nope, it's just Chuck Testa._


	24. Chapter 24: Revival

**Chapter 24: Revival**

* * *

><p><strong>I'm starting to get really excited about writing this fiction. :D The things I have planned are going to be so awesome, if I didn't have school I would be writing this like crazy.<strong>

**I don't know of you guys have noticed, but I've kind of just been updating every Friday, because that's typically close to when I have it finished, so that's when you can anticipate it.**

**I still don't own Pokémon, after all this time I would hope you guys would understand that.**

**Read and be happy.**

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

Paul was looking around in the back lot behind the bakery, trying to find Dawn and Lucario, shouting their names several times. I remained silent, kneeling sadly by Ash's body with Pikachu and Gengar. It was one of the few times I had ever seen the Shadow Pokémon frown.

_What am I going to tell his mom?_ I asked myself, Misty_, Brock, Max, Ash's Pokémon..._I gently grabbed Ash's hand, intertwining his fingers with mine. I sniffed and wiped a tear away, holding his hand close to my heart. With a gentle swipe, I removed some of his messy raven hair from his face. His were eyes closed and his face showed no emotion.

"Pika pika..." Pikachu said sadly, he looked at his trainer with watery eyes, as did Gengar.

I heard footsteps and turned to see Paul walking through the hole in the wall. "There's a grunt knocked out unconscious a little bit a ways," Paul said, "I say we head in that direction." Once again, Paul and I picked up Ash's body and walking out the bakery. We walked down the back lot, behind the buildings. The man Paul was talking about was lying on the ground next to a dumpster.

I saw an odd flash appeared through the second story window of a building a little bit away. "Paul! Look!" I exclaimed, pointing at the window. Paul turned and saw the flash just in time to watch it disappear.

"Let's go," He said, picking up the pace as we carried Ash. We ran up to the building and stepped inside. Paul looked at the staircase and grumbled something.

"Let's leave Ash's body here and check out what's upstairs," he said. I nodded and we set Ash's body down, and we all crept up the stairs and peeked inside.

_"Unfortunately, I fell into my creator's trap, now I'm stuck here being chased by those no-good men."_

Paul motioned for me to stop; we leaned against the wall, breathing as quietly as we could.

_"You're creator?"_

Paul's eyes widened, it sounded like Dawn's voice.

_"The leader of Team Rocket, the one behind all this," _an unfamiliar voice replied.

_"That's n-" _Dawn began, but abruptly stopped, never completing her sentence. There was a silence, we waiting for her to continue, but she didn't.

_"You four and stop hiding and show yourselves," _we heard the unfamiliar voice say.

My eyes widened and I exchanged glances with Paul, Pikachu, and Gengar. Paul raised a brow and shrugged. He stepped in front of the door frame to the room that the voices had been coming from. I watched him look inside and take a step back, jaw going slack.

_"Oh, hey Paul,"_ I heard Dawn say, _"This is Mewtwo, he saved us from a few grunts."_

Now curious, I looked into the room, finding it empty aside from Dawn, Lucario, and a large purple Pokémon who must have been Mewtwo.

Along with Pikachu and Gengar, we all stepped into the room, unable to take our eyes off of the Mewtwo. Pikachu, cocked his head and approached it. The Mewtwo looked at Pikachu for a minute.

"You seem familiar," Mewtwo said.

Pikachu stood up on his hind legs, "Pi pika pika Pikachu PikaPi," he said making a few hand motions.

Mewtwo nodded, "I see." was all he said.

"Hey, where's Ash?" Dawn asked. I gulped, and exchanged glances with Paul, who walked over to Dawn, crouching by her.

"Dawn..." he began, refusing to look her in the eye, "Ash is gone..." he said.

Dawn tilted her head, confused with what Paul was saying, "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Ash... Is dead..." Paul said, "His body is downstairs." Lucario growled and dashed out of the room and down the stairs. Everyone but Mewtwo followed close behind.

Dawn gasped and covered her mouth with her hands as she looked at Ash's limp body lying on the floor.

"No..." she whispered. Lucario laid a paw on his trainer's chest, eyes already watering. He let out a long, sad howl. I walked over to the crying Lucario and hugged him tightly.

"It'll be okay..." I whispered to him sadly as he hugged me back. Soon I was crying as well. Dawn had buried her face in Paul's torso, also crying. Paul hugged her back, his face expressing sadness.

"Gen Gengar..." Gengar said sadly, also hugging me.

"Pikachu," Pikachu wrapped his short little arms around me, I did my best to try to comfort Ash's Pokémon.

_"That face..."_

I looked up. Mewtwo had somehow appeared next to me, standing over Ash's dead body.

"You really were his Pikachu," Mewtwo said to Pikachu, who had his face buried in my side. Mewtwo looked at the body for a long while, barely moving except to breathe and blink.

"This boy's days are not over," Mewtwo said. I looked at him, a glint of hope in my eyes.

"W-what do you mean?" I asked, hoping that he meant what I thought he meant.

Mewtwo glanced at me before looking back at Ash's body. "I'm going to revive him..." Mewtwo said. Ash's Pokémon stopped crying and looked at Mewtwo, Dawn as well as Paul were also looking at Mewtwo.

"It will take time," Mewtwo said, "But I can bring him back." I leapt to my feet and hugged Mewtwo tightly.

"Thank you," I said quietly. Mewtwo freed himself from my grip and looked back down at Ash.

"How long will it take to bring him back?" Dawn asked.

Mewtwo sighed and glanced at her, "Hard to say, could take hours, could take minutes." Mewtwo turned back to the body, "Now quite down so I can focus." He closed his eyes and his body began to glow, Ash's body rose from the ground, also glowing. Mewtwo stretched out both his hands; a slight ringing began to sound through the room.

"He must be doing it..." Dawn said quietly.

_"The data says there was a large amount of energy released here, matching Mewtwo's energy perfectly."_

All of our heads turned and looked out the window. Mewtwo didn't budge, remaining where he was.

"Team Rocket is out there!" Paul exclaimed.

Dawn looked around frantically, "What do we do? Mewtwo can't stop now!"

_"Knowing Mewtwo, he probably flew off somewhere else. But just in case, I want you three to look around and check to make sure he isn't hiding around here."_

_"Yes, Sir!"_three man exclaimed, all who stepped into a building a little bit aways.

_"Odd, the data shows more energy being released around here right now. But that doesn't make sense, why would he be giving off energy right now?"_ I heard a grunt say, _"Oh well, we'll find out soon enough."__  
><em>  
>The search group moved to the building next to the one we were in. The lead grunt had disappeared, gone without a trace.<p>

"We're going to have to stall and hope for the best," Paul said.

"How do we stall?" I asked.

Paul looked at me and pulled out a Pokéball. "Battle them, what else?" he said, "We can't let them get in the building, so we have to battle them outdoors.

I looked at Pikachu, Gengar, and Lucario, "You guys ready?" I asked, pulling out a Pokéball of my own.

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed, cheeks sparking.

"Gen!" Gengar said, pumping his fist.

"Rrrr!" Lucario said, already forming a light stick.

We all approached the entrance we assumed Team Rocket would come in from. "On my signal," Paul said, Dawn and I nodded.

_"__**Dude**__, that last building had been __**totaled**__,"_I heard a grunt say.

_"Yeah, __**man**__, it was a mess,_" I heard another reply, Paul showed three fingers, and began to count down silently.

_3._  
><em><br>__2._

_1._

"Now!" He said, we all ran through the door and stood in front of the entrance, stopping the grunts in their tracks.

"Hey! You guys aren't supposed to be here!" one grunt said, pulling out some handcuffs, "You'll have to come with us!"

"Not today," Dawn said, enlarging her Pokéball, Paul and I did the same. Pikachu's cheeks sparked while Lucario and Gengar took battle stances.

"Oh, you three want to go down the fun way," a grunt said, "Then let's do this, **man**!" the three grunts grabbed Pokéballs off their own.

"Let's do this, guys!" A grunt said. With that we all tossed Pokéballs in the air.

"Blaziken!"

"Togikiss!"

"Electivire!"

We all threw out our Pokémon, who all took battle stances. The grunts smirked and enlarged their own Pokéballs.

"This is it?" they asked, laughing together. Our Pokémon growled in anger. "This will be easier than I thought **bro**!" a grunt said, tossing out his ball as his partners did the same.

Before us, a Garchomp, Tyranitar, and a Salamence appeared before us, all growling menacingly.

"Where's Palmer and his Heatran when you need it," Paul grumbled. "Dawn, you take Garchomp. May, you take Tyranitar. I'll take Salamence."

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed leaping in front of us with sparking cheeks.

"Gengar!" Gengar appeared next to Pikachu, growling mischievously.

"Rrrrm!" Lucario said, jumping over us and standing on the other side of Pikachu, spinning his light stick and swinging it back and forth.

"**Dude**… looks like we're out numbered," One grunt said, pulling out another Pokéball, "Luckily we came prepared." all three grunts threw out a second bunch of Pokémon. Out came a Siczor, Metagross, and Infernape.

Looking around, there where twelve Pokémon ready to battle, on our side was Pikachu, Gengar, Lucario, Blaziken, Togikiss, and Electivire. On the other side, were Garchomp, Tyranitar, Salamence, Metagross, Infernape, and Siczor.

_Oh boy,_ I thought to myself, _this will be interesting._

"Alright Blaziken, You heard Paul! Let's take this Tyranitar down!" Blaziken nodded and her wrist and set on fire, ready to battle.

"Tyraniter, Stone Edge! Infernape, Close Combat!" One grunt said.

"Wait what?" I asked, sharp stones few towards Blaziken, who avoided the attack, but was slam into the ground the beat repeatedly by Infernape, who used Close Combat.

"Hey! That's not fair!" I told the grunt, realizing that he wouldn't care, he just smirked and laughed evilly.

"Aw **man**, this is **too **easy," He said, folding his arms as I glared at him.

"Blaziken! Please get up!" I exclaimed, Blaziken shook as she rose to her feet, taking another battle stance.

"Tyranitar! Another Stone Edge! Infernape! Focus Punch!" The grunt said.

"Try to dodge!" I said, Blaziken stumbled, a little, still recovering from the Close Combat, she wouldn't be able to dodge. Suddenly, the stones flying at Blaziken began to glow a strange purple, and came to a stop.

"Hu, what's going on?" the grunt asked.

"Geeeeeeen..." Gengar appeared with glowing, purple eyes. With an odd hand motion, he shot the rocks at Infernape, who had been charging for the Focus Punch.

"Fernap!" The Infernape exclaimed as he was brutally hit by the attack.

"Great job, Gengar!" I said. Blaziken, now confident enough to fight with the help of a team mate, roared and shot some flames into the air.

Tyranitar stood on one side of the battle field with Infernape, while Blaziken and Gengar stood on the opposite side. Both side glared at each other. The grunt growled menacingly before barking commands.

"Tyranitar, use Dark Pulse on that Gengar! Infernape! Use Flame Thrower on the fire chicken!"

"That's a Blaziken for your information," I said in a matter of fact tone. "Blaziken, use Fire Spin! Gengar, use Shadow Ball!" Blaziken shot a hot finery pillar from her mouth which began to swirl around Infernape, who tried to get out of the attack.

The Shadow Ball and Dark pulse collided, forming this odd sphere that looked like both attacks combined. Gengar flew at the ball and head butted it, sending it flying back at Tyranitar.

"Not so easy now is it?" I asked mockingly. The grunt growled. Infernape escaped the fire spin and dashed at Blaziken, hitting her with Flame Thrower. Even though Infernape stopped the attack, Blaziken was still in flames.

"Looks like you burned it, **bro**," The grunt said with a smirk. "Tyranitar! Earthquake!" The Tyranitar stomped the ground several times, making it shake. Both Blaziken and Infernape fell to the ground as it shook violently, Gengar remained hovering in the air, unaffected by the attack.

"In... Fern... Ape..." Infernape said weakly, trying to get up, but fell to the ground with swirly eyes, knocking out.

My jaw went slack as I watched it fall "How... Could you..." I said quietly, "You heartless brute!" I exclaimed, "You hurt your own Pokémon doing that!"

"Doesn't matter, I took your fire chicken out as well," the grunt said. Sure enough, Blaziken was lying on the ground, KOed. We both returned our fire/fighting types.

I let out a growl, "Gengar! Hypnosis!" I shouted, Gengar nodded and shot yellow rings at Tyranitar, putting it to sleep.

"This is for Blaziken... **And **Infernape!" I growled, "Dream Eater!" Gengar flew at the sleeping Tyranitar and flew right through him. With an odd flash of light, Tyranitar was also knocked out. The grunts jaw went slack.

I smirked, "It was **too** easy, **man**." I told him. The grunt quickly reconnected himself and began the laugh.

I tilted my head,_ what's so funny? _I thought.

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

Garchomp and Scizor stood on side of the battle field, Togikiss stood on the opposite side by herself.

"This isn't fair," I said, I was about to grab another Pokéball, but I heard a growl, and Lucario leapt onto the field, growling at the grunt's Pokémon angrily.

"You want to battle them too?" I asked him, he silently nodded, swinging his light stick around menacingly.

"Give me your best shot, little girl!" the grunt shouted. I growled, _oh no he didn't..._

"Lucario, Bone Rush on Garchomp! Togikiss, Air Slash on Siczor!" I exclaimed.

Togikiss spun around a few times, forming a bright blue orb, and chucked it at Scizor. Lucario dashed forward with his light stick and struck Garchomp several times.

"Dragon Claw!" The grunt said. Garchomp's claws began to glow and he swiped Lucario away, sending him flying.

"Iron Head!" The grunt barked to Siczor, who's head began to gleam, his entire body was glowing and he leapt into the air, ramming into Togikiss. Togikiss yelped in pain and began to fall to the ground.

"Lucario! Try to catch Togikiss!" I exclaimed, Lucario nodded and dashed under where he thought Togikiss would land. With luck, he managed to catch the large flying type.

"X Scissor!"

Lucario, grunted as he was hit in the back by Siczor, unable to dodge because he was holding Togikiss. The two fell to the ground, Lucario groaned in pain as he struggled to get up.

"Togikiss! Grab Lucario and fly!" I told her, she nodded and grabbed Lucario's shoulders with her feet and flew high into the air.

"Garchomp! Jump and use slash!" the Grunt said. "Siczor! Hop on him and use X Scissor!" Scizor grabbed onto Garchomp and they shot into the air, leaping over Togikiss. Scizor jumped off Garchomp and used X Scissor on Togikiss as Garchomp used Slash. Togikiss shouted in pain and fell again, crashing into the ground on top of Lucario.

"Rrrrmm..." Lucario groaned as Togikiss got off him. They both stood up, Lucario wasn't looking to good, and he shook as he took his battle stance.

"Aura Sphere on Garchomp, both of you!" I said, the two Pokémon formed Aura Spheres and threw them at Garchomp. As they flew through the air, the two spheres began to spin around each other, forming a larger ball. It collided with Garchomp, knocking him out.

"Not cool," the grunt growled as he returned Garchomp, "Scizor! Iron Head!" Scizor began to glow again and he shot forward at Lucario, ramming into him and knocking him out. My heart sunk as Togikiss lifted the unconscious Pokémon up and carried him over to me.

"Togikiss! Look out!" I exclaimed. Scizor had snuck up behind Togikiss as she was retrieving Lucario, and hit her with X Scissor.

I stamped my foot "That was a dirty move!" I shouted at the grunt, who laughed.

"That's too bad, little girl, there are no rules in this battle," the grunt told me.

"Is that so? Togikiss, fire as many Aura Spheres as you can!" I shouted.

Togikiss formed several Aura Spheres and chucked them angrily at Scizor, who flew backwards from all the impact, knocked out.

"No!" the grunt shouted, he grumpily returned his Pokémon. "Never mind, it doesn't matter anymore." he said, with a laugh.

I cocked my head, _What does he mean by that? _I thought to myself.

* * *

><p><strong>Paul's POV<strong>

The grunt opposite of me stood smugly with Salamence and Metagross while I stood on the other side with only Electivire.

_Seems a little unfair, but I can take them, _I thought to myself. Although at first glance, the Pokémon looked like powerhouses, they were not properly trained, it would be an easy victory if I played my cards right.

"Pika!"

Ash's Pikachu leapt onto the field in front of me and next to Electivire. He cheeks sparked as he glared at the two Pokémon facing him.

_All the easier...__  
><em>  
>"Electivire, Brick Break! Pikachu... Uh... Volt Tackle." I had to think for a minute, trying to remember Pikachu's moves.<p>

"Metagross, Meteor Mash! Salamence, Dragon Breath!" the grunt shouted.

Electivire ran across the field with his hand glowing, he raised it in the air and attempted the strike Metagross, who blocked it with Meteor Mash. Pikachu surrounded himself in electricity and dashed forward towards Salamence.

"Pikapikapikapikapika," he said quickly as he ran. Salamence opened his mouth and shot green flames from his mouth, consuming Pikachu. He proceeded with Volt Tackle and dash through the Dragon Breath and into Salamence. The dragon let out a roar as it was hit by the powerful electric attack. Pikachu braced himself and took a little damage from the Volt Tackle.

Looking back over at Electivire, I watched him and Metagross struggle to overpower one another.

"Pikachu, Iron Tail on Metagross!" I exclaimed. Pikachu nodded and dashed at Metagross, leaping into the air with a shimmering tail. He slammed down on Metagross while it was occupied with Eletivire. Metagross was distracted by the attack and gave into Eletivire, who hit it hard with Brock Break.

"Electivire and Pikachu, use Thunder on Metagross," I said.

"PIKA**CHUUUUU!**"

"ELEC**TIVIRE**!"

Both Pokémon lit up and attacked Metagross. The large Steel/Psychic type caved in and fell over, knocked out.

"No!" The grunt exclaimed.

"Alright, Pikachu, use the Quick Attack - Iron Tail - Volt Tackle combo on Salamence, Electivire Brick Break and Thunder!" I said.

"Salamence! Dragon Breath again!" The grunt said. Pikachu shot across the field and leapt into the air about to use Iron Tail, completely dodging the Dragon Breath. Electivire jumped into the air about to use Brick Break and sparking with electricity. Both attacks hit at the same time, with a powerful flash up light, Salamence was sent flying through the air, landing far off in the distance, KOed.

"N-No!" The grunt stuttered. I smirked; I knew it would be an easy battle. But I felt a little uneasy as a grin grew on the grunts face.

I made a confused face, _Err, okay that's odd, _I thought.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"We beat you now back off!" I shouted at the grunt.

"Yeah, leave us alone!" Dawn shouted. I looked over and saw that Dawn and Paul had both overpowered the other two grunts.

"Golbat! Come out!" A grunt said, tossing another Pokéball. Out came a Golbat.

"You just don't give up," I said.

"Oh, I'm not asking for another round," The man said, the other two grunts tossed out Pokéballs as well, the brown owl looking Pokémon, Noctowl, the large steel, oddly shaped Pokémon, Bronzong, and the creepy yellow Pokémon with white fluff around its neck, Hypno appeared on the field.

"Hu? What are they doing," I asked, Dawn shrugged. Without any warning, the four Pokémon used Hypnosis on Gengar, Pikachu, Togikiss, and Electivire. They all fell over, fast asleep.

"Hey!" I shouted, "You cheaters!" I reached for another Pokéball from my belt, but all I grabbed was air.

"Hu?" I looked down and saw all my Pokéballs where gone. "**AHHHH!**" I exclaimed, frantically digging through my fanny pack and patting my pockets. "My Pokéballs are **gone**!"

Dawn and Paul checked where they kept their Pokéballs as well. "Hey! My Pokéballs are gone too!" Dawn exclaimed.

"What the heck!" Paul exclaimed, patting his pockets.

One of the grunts burst into laughter, "Good job, Linoone!" I saw a striped normal type Pokémon handing over our Pokéballs.

"You cheap cowards!" Paul exclaimed. The grunts laughed.

"You better watch your step, **bro**," One grunt said, pulling out some handcuffs, his Team Rocket grunts did the same. The three grunts and their Pokémon walked past the sleeping Pokémon and over to us. A grunt forcefully spun me around and put the cuffs on me.

"Let go of me!" I shouted, trying to squirm away.

"The more you squirm the harder you make it for yourself!" the grunt growled as he locked the handcuffs. "Now march!" with a shove the three grunts began to drag us across the back lot, with their Pokémon watching us menacingly.

"Gible! Draco Meteor!"

The grunts froze. With a loud boom, an orange orb shot through the roof of the building Ash and Mewtwo had been inside.

"To the ground!" Paul shouted. Dawn, Paul, and I fell to our stomachs as the orange orb exploded and meteors began to fall from the sky.

The ground shook violently as the attack slammed into the ground. I clamped my eyes shut, praying I wouldn't get hit.

...

The shaking subsided and I opened my eyes. Getting up to my feet, I looked around and found all of the grunts and their Pokémon were on the ground unconscious. The ground was littered with craters and cracks.

But what caught was my eye was a trainer and his Gible standing at the entrance of the building we had been defending. He said something before returning his Gible and looking back at us.

"Ash!" I exclaimed, I ran towards him, still handcuff. I almost stumbled and fell on my face but he caught me, wrapping his arms around me tightly. I began to cry happily, silently thanking Arceus he was back.

"It's been a crazy, messed up day hasn't it?" he said, still hugging me. I wordlessly nodded, wishing I could hug him back, but the stupid handcuffs I had on prevented me.

"You're back!" Dawn exclaimed, also running over and leaning against Ash, who wrapped an arm around her as well.

"Heh, you can't get rid of me **that **easily," Ash said.

"Just try to lose some weight next time I have to carry you," Paul said with a smirk.

"Now how do we get these cuffs off?" Dawn asked, standing up straight again. Ash let go of me and I stood up straight as well. He scratched his head and looked around.

"Gengar could get them off with Confusion," Ash suggested, "Speaking of Gengar, where is he, Pikachu, and Lucario?" Paul motioned with his head to the sleeping Pokémon, and Lucario, who happened to be waking up after recovering from the knock out.

Ash walked over to the Fighting/Steel type, whose eyes widened as a huge grin appeared on his face. He lunged forward and tackled Ash, happily hugging his revived trainer.

"Pika?" Pikachu groaned groggily as he slowly rose to his feet. He looked around and saw Ash, "**PIKAPI**!" he exclaimed happily as he dashed forward and leapt into Ash's arms.

"Pikachu!" Ash said happy as he hugged his electric mouse tightly. Pikachu snuggled deep into Ash's arms, as if he never wanted to let his trainer out of his sight again.

"Gengar!"

Ash turned and saw Gengar charging at him full speed. Pikachu leapt out of Ash's arms, and just in time. Gengar rammed into Ash, tackling him and sending him flying several yards a way.

"His Pokémon seem relieved," Dawn said.

"You don't need a telescope to see that," I said with a giggle.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

After Gengar used Confusion and freed from our handcuffs, and giving Ash a hug now that my arms were free, we found our Pokéballs and retrieved them.

"_Ooooohh_," a grunt groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. But after a firm kicking the face from Dawn's pink boot, he was out again.

"Hey, where's Mewtwo?" Dawn asked.

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback: Ash's POV<strong>

_After the strange voice had told me about my gift and the monster, the light faded, and everything went black. I suddenly felt a strange power surge through my veins. My eyes snapped open and I found I was levitating over the ground._

_"Whoa! What's the heck!" I exclaimed. Suddenly, I stopped levitating and fell to the ground with a loud thud._

_"Grrmmph..."_

_I looked over and saw Mewtwo on or knee with his eyes clamped shut._

_"Mewtwo!" I exclaimed, standing up, "What happened?"_

_Mewtwo groaned and grunted a few times but manage to say, "It took all my energy to revive you... Go... Save your friends..." he fell to the ground. I gasped and knelt down by him. He was still breathing, so I knew he was alive._

_"Let go of me!" l heard May shout. I quickly stood up and ran to the entrance of the building_

_"The more you squirm the harder you make it for yourself!" I heard a man say. "Now march!"_

_I saw May, Dawn, and Paul all handcuffed and behind dragged away by three Team Rocket grunts, which were accompanied by several Pokémon._

_I have to help them out fast, I thought I grabbed Gible's Pokéball and tossed it into the air. He appeared before me, looking up and blinking a few times, awaiting a command._

_"Gible! Draco Meteor!" I shouted. Gible threw his head back and fired a Draco Meteor upward. But he was still in the building, the orange orb fired straight through the ceiling. Gible and I covered out heads as a little dust fell from the ceiling. The Draco Meteor exploded and began to fall to earth. I saw Paul shout for everyone to drop to the ground, which he, May, and Dawn did. The grunts and their Pokémon where not so lucky and where hit by the Draco Meteor, knocking them all out._

_"When in doubt... Use Draco Meteor," I said, smiling cheerfully at my little Dragon type. "Great job, Gible. Take a nice rest." I said as I returned him._

* * *

><p><strong>End of Flashback: May's POV<strong>

"So Mewtwo is unconscious right now?" Dawn asked. Ash nodded, and motioned for us to follow him back in the building Sure enough, Mewtwo was lying on the ground unconscious. He was slowly and steadily breathing as he laid there.

"Poor thing," Dawn said, kneeling down by him and rubbing his back. "What do we do now?" she asked, looking up at us.

Paul shrugged, "I say we wait for Mewtwo to wake up, then we figure out our next step." he suggested.

"Yeah, that's probably the best idea, we can't just leave him here," Ash said. With a sigh, he took his hat off and ran his hand through his hair, sitting down on the floor with his Pokémon. I sat down beside him, giving him a bright smile as I positioned myself.

"So what was it like to be dead?" I asked him.

Ash chuckled a little, "So I was dead?" he asked. Although I didn't really want to think about it, I nodded.

"I had this dream..." he said, "I was in a really bright place, I couldn't see anything, but there wasn't anything there with me... Yet, I heard this strange voice."

"What did the voice say?" I asked as I scooted a little closer.

"It wasn't clear about anything," Ash said, "He never named anything directly. He said something about Team Rocket using the power created by Ho-oh."

I tilted my head a little, not aware of what that was, "What is the power of Ho-oh?" I asked him.

Ash sighed and gazed at the ground, Pikachu crawled into Ash's lap again, snuggling into his stomach. "I think he was talking about Entei, Suicune, and Raikou," he said, "Legend says Ho-oh created those three."

"Raikou?" I asked him, unfamiliar with the Pokémon.

"One of the three legendary beasts, we haven't seen him in Johto, because I think Team Rocket captured it a while ago." Ash said, scratching Pikachu behind the ears, making him coo softly.

"What else did the voice say," I asked him, still curious.

Ash looked at me for a minute, as if trying to remember, "It... Uh... Said something about an evil monstrosity... And that only a few forces could stop it..."

I shivered a little, "That doesn't sound good," I said, "Will something be come to stop it?"

Ash chuckled a little, shaking his head, "the voice said that I would."

I raised a brow, "W-what?" I asked, concern laced in my voice.

"It said that when the monster appeared, the force I need to stop it will turn against me and that I'll have to use my special gift to stop it."

"Your special gift?" I asked, "What gift do you think he was talking about?"

Ash shrugged, "The only thing I can guess is that it's my special aura, and that I'll somehow stop the force with it."

I scooting closer and embraced him, "Just don't die again..." I told him, silently chuckling to myself; I never thought I would ever say something like that ever.

"Heh, I'll try not to," Ash said, but suddenly grew serious. "By the way, when we were dangling from that sky scraper, where-"

Ash didn't finish his sentence though, there was a huge explosion, making a huge hole in the roof.

***BOOM!***

Everyone quickly stood up and looked out the hole. Above the building, hovering was the large aircraft with the strange cannon on it. A net fell from the aircraft and wrapped around Mewtwo.

"No!" Dawn screamed as she attempted the jump and grab the net as it was lifted into the air, but was held back by Paul. She struggled to get out of his grip but he wouldn't let go.

"Gengar! Shadow Claw on the net!" Ash exclaimed, Gengar saluted and shot into the air, floated by the net. He hit it with several Shadow Claws but it wouldn't break the net. He cracked his knuckles and pretended to roll up his sleeves, attempting to break the net several times again, but it still wouldn't break. The cannon on the air craft charged up and fired at Gengar, who disappeared just in time and reappeared on the opposite side of the net. He stuck his tongue out at the cannon and put his hands up to his ears, wiggling his short fingers. But he quickly stopped and flew away as the cannon fired at him again. Eventually he gave up and reappeared by Ash, breathing heavily. The net rose out of range in disappeared in the ship.

"YOU **IDIOT**!"

Ash and I turned and saw Paul had let go of Dawn, who was now screaming in his face.

"I could have helped him, you** jerk**!" Dawn shouted, Paul didn't even flinch, "How could you have been so heartless!"

"What would you have done?" Paul asked calmly, "Helplessly dangled from the net until Team Rocket reeled you in and captured you?"

"**NO**!" Dawn shouted, "I could have broken him free!"

"Not even Gengar's Shadow Claws could break him free! I doubt you could have!" Paul argued.

"B-but-!" Dawn stammered.

"Dawn!" Paul exclaimed, grabbing her shoulders, "It would not have ended well for you... Trust me..." Paul told her. Dawn stammered a few times, but gave in and leaned against Paul, silently crying. He winced a little bit and looked at us.

Gengar floated over to me, pointing at Paul, and then to himself before hugging me tightly, which took me by surprise. Paul got the picture, and slowly hugged Dawn. I flashed a thumbs up and winked at Gengar.

***SLAM!***

We heard a loud noise as if something was ramming into something else, before hearing a loud and familiar roar. We exchanged glances and all ran outside, and found that Team Rocket's air craft was under attack. A large green flying snake with arms was ramming into it and firing Hyper Beams at it.

"Rayquaza!" Ash exclaimed.

* * *

><p><strong>And like the boss that he is, Gengar is giving relationship tips to people. I love this Pokémon, it will be a sad day when I finish this story and won't be able to write more about this Gengar, because he's really growing on me.<strong>

**Lol as you can see, I have kind of created a connection between Dawn and Mewtwo. :D**

**Anyways, everything that "**_**the voice"**_** said in the last chapter should become pretty clear in the next chapter. So look forward to that!**

T**hanks for reading and even more for reviewing. Especially people who have been faithfully reviewing and giving me their input each chapter.**

**And yes Ghost for Linkin Park, I liked your meme's.**

**Ah, I love memes.****  
><strong>


	25. Chapter 25: Mission Impossible

**Chapter 25: Mission Impossible**

* * *

><p><strong>Not much to really say for this chapter. Although I should say that being that next week is Thanks Giving and all that, I probably won't be updating anything. : **

**I don't own Pokémon, never have never will.**

**Read and be happy!**

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

We looked up into the sky and saw the familiar green legendary Pokémon of the sky trying to take down the massive aircraft that had captured Mewtwo. It let out a mighty roar and fired a Hyper Beam at the ship.

The ship wasn't defenseless of course, the strange cannon charged up and opened fired at Rayquaza, who took evasive action to avoid them. As it dodged the attacks, he fired Hyper Beams and slammed into the ship several times, leaving several marks, but never taking the ship down.

"Do you think it will be able to stop Team Rocket?" Dawn asked as she watched the scene unfold.

"I don't know," Ash said, also gazing up at the midair fight, "Rayquaza is powerful, but is it powerful enough to stop something so massive?"

"Ash! There you guys are?" We all turned around and saw Scott and Palmer running over to us. "Are you all okay?" Palmer asked.

"Yeah, Ash died at one point, but he's back now," Dawn said jokingly, but suddenly grew serious, "But they have Mewtwo..."

Scott and Palmer exchanged glances, "That's not good," Scott said, "With Mewtwo's power, they could-"

He was abruptly interrupted as we heard a loud roar, we all looked up and saw that Team Rocket had nailed Rayquaza with the cannon. He roared as he tumbled downward, crashing through a building, and disappeared from sight.

"We have to act fast," Palmer said, "If not, the entire world could feel the wrath of Team Rocket."

I looked up as the ship continued to hover above us, as if it was waiting for something, "But how do we stop them?" I asked, "Even before they captured Mewtwo, they were powerful."

We heard another roar as Rayquaza shot out of the building it had crashed into. We could tell it was tiring, but none the less he continued to attack. The cannon charged up again and began to fire.

"We can't just sit here," Ash said, "We gotta stop them!"

"Pikapika!" Pikachu agreed.

Palmer watched as the ship fired at Rayquaza, studying the scene before him. Rayquaza was gracefully able to dodge the rays fired from the cannon, but was starting to slow down.

"We need to take out that cannon for starters," Palmer said, "If we can get up there and somehow shut it down, Rayquaza could successfully stop them. But how do we shut it down?"

Ash adjusted his cap and glanced at me, "The power of the cannon is coming from Entei, Suicune, and Raikou," said Ash, "If we free them, the cannon's power will be gone."

Palmer raised a brow, "How do you know that?" he asked.

"I-" Ash began, scratching the back of his head, "We saw them capture Entei and Suicune, it only makes sense."

We heard another roar; we looked up and saw a creature in a robotic armor hovering before Rayquaza.

"What's that?" I asked, looking at the newcomer.

Dawn gasped, "That's Mewtwo!" she exclaimed, "But what happened to it?"

Mewtwo formed a Shadow Ball and chucked it at Rayquaza. This was no ordinary Shadow Ball though, it was so powerful it hit Rayquaza and slammed him hard into the ground.

"Not good," Paul said.

"Why would Mewtwo hit Rayquaza like that?" Dawn exclaimed. "Doesn't he know it's trying to help!"

"Unless..." Palmer began, "His mind was manipulated by Team Rocket!" Dawn gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

"But they did it so fast!" Paul exclaimed, "How on earth could they change Mewtwo like that so quickly?"

Ash sighed and looked at the menacing legendary hovering in the air. Mewtwo began throwing more Shadow Balls, now at buildings, and other things, creating explosions and sending a skyscraper toppling onto of Rayquaza.

"No!" Ash exclaimed as he saw Rayquaza disappear under the rumble. Lucario let out a menacing, but sad growl at the Mewtwo.

"We're going to have to worry about Rayquaza later," Scott said, "We need to put that cannon out of business before it's too late."

With another roar, Rayquaza emerged from the ruble of the fallen building, and slowly rose back into the air; he looked about ready to fall over. The legendary approached Mewtwo and began to charge up for a Hyper Beam. Suddenly, the cannon from the aircraft fired again. But it wasn't the normal ray gun, now it let out dark, black and purple electricity that seemed to electrocute Rayquaza.

"Ash..." I said quietly, just loud enough for him to hear me.

"Yeah?" he responded, also quietly.

"Do you think the 'monstrosity' the voice was talking about was Mewtwo?" I asked him, not taking my eyes off Rayquaza as it was hurt by the electricity.

Ash looked at me, and appeared to be thinking, "Maybe..." he replied.

"Then do you think Rayquaza is the force you need to stop him?"

He looked at Rayquaza, I glanced at him, it appeared as if he saw my logic. "I think you're might be right, May..." he said quietly.

I laid my hand on his shoulder, "And didn't the voice say the force would turn against you?" I asked him. Ash's face went pale, as the idea struck him. Rayquaza roared so loudly, the clouds up in the sky blew away. The yellow markings going up its body began to glow, and a dark matter began to cover it; soon it was consumed by darkness, as if it had turned into a silhouette.

The electricity stopped. Mewtwo floated in the air, cautiously watching the silhouette at Rayquaza. With another ear piercing roar, the darkness around Rayquaza blew up and with flung away from it.

"Oh... My... Arceus..." Paul said. The familiar green Rayquaza was no longer there. Now there was a black Rayquaza, whose eyes glowed red evilly.

"Does that answer your question, Paul?" Palmer asked, not taking his eyes off the evil Rayquaza. Paul wordlessly nodded, also gazing at the creature in the air. Rayquaza threw his head back and roared; he spun around and flew away, firing Hyper Beams everywhere.

"The weapon doesn't just manipulate minds," Scott said, "It restores energy!"

Dawn gulped, "That's not good."

Ash spun around, appearing enraged by what he had just seen, "Palmer! I need Tropius! I have to take out that cannon!"

Palmer shook his head, "You guys lay low, I'll take care of this," he said.

Ash shook his was and shouted, "NO! I'm not gonna sit here and wait! I'm helping whether you like it or not!" Palmer appeared a bit taken aback by Ash's outburst.

"So am I..."

Dawn step up and stood next to Ash, "You can't keep me down here, we have to save Mewtwo."

I nodded and stood next to Ash as well, "That's right, we have to do something."

Everyone looked at Paul, who just emotionless looked back. "I'm not going to join the cheesy little friendship moment, but I'm in," he said.

Palmer looked at each of us before smiling, "I see there's no changing your minds," He unclipped a Pokéball from his belt, "Tropius! Go!"

The Grass/Flying type emerged from his Pokéball, letting out a roar. "I don't think Tropius can carry all four of you, not to mention Lucario, Gengar, and Pikachu..."

"That's fine," Dawn said, "Go, Togekiss!" Dawn threw a Pokéball into the air and let out her Togekiss, who chirped cheerfully.

"Good luck, you guys," Scott said, "I'll see what I can do to help once I get back to my helicopter, meanwhile, you guys go ahead."

With quick nods, Ash, Pikachu, Gengar, and I hopped on Tropius as Dawn, Paul, and Lucario got on Togekiss. We all shot into the air towards the large aircraft, which was starting to fly away.

"They're getting away!" Ash shouted over the wind rushing by us. "Tropius! Try to fly faster!"

With a nod, Tropius began to furiously flap its wings and speed up, causing me to grab onto Ash to prevent myself from falling off. We flew under the ship, supposedly undetected, when a thought dawned on me.

"Ash, how do we get inside?" I asked. Ash looked around; the ramp that allowed access in and out of the aircraft was obviously closed.

"Gengar!" Ash shouted to the ghost type clinging to his shoulder, "Go in there and see if you can open that ramp!" Gengar saluted and shot upward, flying straight through the underbelly of the ship. We waited patiently, but Tropius and Togekiss began to tire. Suddenly, we heard engines whir and the ramp lower, revealing a grinning Gengar and four unconscious grunts. We landed on the ramp, and ran up it.

"Awesome job, Gengar," Ash said, high-fiveing him.

"Okay, now what?" Dawn asked. Paul looked down at the knocked out grunts on the floor, and smirked.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"Uh... This is a little big..." Ash said. He was wearing one of the grunts uniforms.

"Ugh, and it's so out of fashion," Dawn groaned.

I looked down at my own uniform. It was black and similar to Jessie's, it had a skirt which a little long for me, and the shirt was hung right over my belly button and the boots felt roomy. The addition to my suit that Jessie never had was a black mask and a black hat, similar to what a robber would wear.

Dawn's costume was a replica of mine, while Ash and Paul wore suits similar to what James wore. Of course, it was a little big on them and they also had the addition of a hat and mask.

"Alright, let's go," Ash said.

"What about Pikachu, Lucario, Gengar, and Tropius?" I asked. We looked at the four Pokémon.

"They could blow our cover," Paul said, "They should just stay here."

"But..." Ash began, looking at the three Pokémon, "Okay..." he said sadly. He stepped over and patted each of them gently, as if saying "goodbye."

"You guys stay here and guard this exit, we may need it later," Ash said. They nodded together, understanding why they couldn't come.

"Alright, let's go," Ash said, running down the hall.

"We have to locate the main energy room and free the Legendary Beasts," Paul said.

I looked at him and asked, "How do you know they're in there?"

"If what Ash said is true, Team Rocket is using them for the cannons energy, it only makes sense that that's where they would be," Paul explained. I nodded, understanding his logic.

"But how do we find the energy room?" Dawn asked. Everyone stopped in their tracks.

"Err..." Ash grunted, looking this way and that. I sighed, the aircraft was huge, we would never find it.

"You there! What do you four think you're doing?" We spun around and saw a grunt that looked a bit like an admin approach us.

"We're, Uh..." Ash began trying to explain.

"Changing shifts," I said quickly, smiling innocently.

"Yeah, we've been assigned to the energy room," Paul said, hoping to get us there easily.

"Oh good, follow me," the admin said, spinning around and walking down the hall. We exchanged glances and followed him down the hall.

"I'll be taking you to sector 207, so we'll have to take the elevator," he mumbled. He punched the up button next to the elevator and the door quickly opened. We all stepped in and silently stood as the elevator rose.

I could feel the Rocket Admin inspecting each one of us. "Your uniforms are a little big," he said. Dawn just shrugged at him, as if it wasn't a big deal. The elevator door opened again and we found ourselves on the second floor of the aircraft. The admin stepped out and began marching down the hall, whom we wordlessly followed. After walking down the halls and taking several turns, the admin pushed a button and opened a door.

We all stepped inside and had to hold back a gasp. Entei, Suicune, and Raikou were all in glass tubes, roaring in pain as energy was sucked from them. We all exchanged glances and followed the admin, who ordered all the other grunts in the room to get in line. We and the other grunts all formed an organized, straight line. We four were a little shorter than the others, making it feel a little awkward.

"Now listen up," The admin said as he walked down the line, "Everything is going according to plan. As you know, after the successful capture of Raikou, Entei, and Suicune, we attacked and took over Blackthorn City. Not even the Frontier Brain of the Battle Tower here can match our power." The admin reached the end of the line and spun back around, "After much effort, we captured Mewtwo and used our new powerful weapon, Project 312, to take control of him, not to mention that we added the new robotic suit to make him even more powerful and keep him under our control." The grunt stopped in front of me and looked up and down the row, "There was an unexpected event when the ship was attacked by Rayquaza, the powerful legendary of the sky. The shaking and loud booming was caused by it. Luckily, we used Project 312 to stop Rayquaza, but we do not have control over him."

The admin began walking down the row again, "But Rayquaza can wait, we

'll get him later. Right now, we will demolish Blackthorn City, and show the world the true power of Team Rocket!" The other Rocket grunts shouted and cheered, as we did to not look conspicuous. "Now, I just need you to watch these Legendary Beast and keep things under control until I give you further orders."

"Yes, Sir!" the grunts shouted in union, saluting and stamping their right foot.

"Good, now, as you were," the admin said, "Now, as for you four..." the admin approached us as the other grunts went back to their previous posts.

The admin assigned us to various tasks. To be honest, I didn't understand anything he said, but followed his directions and walked over to where he pointed, pretending to know what I was doing.

Ash and Dawn were assigned on opposite sides of Raikou's prison, watching the beast closely. The admin left, meaning it was "go time". Ash exchanged glanced at each of us, in which we all nodded in return. Ash glanced around and secretly grabbed a large wrench lying on the ground. He glanced around before raising a the wrench over his head and smashed the machinery controlling the energy being sucked from Raikou. Raikou's tube stopped sucking its energy, and the Legendary Beast's eye snapped open.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" One grunt shouted, he and several grunts surrounded Ash.

Suddenly we heard a deafening roar, Raikou, glared angrily at the grunts around Ash. Dawn, who was on opposite side of Raikou's glass tube, cracked the glass with several hard pounds of another wrench.

"Why you-!" Another grunt yelled, approaching Dawn. Raikou smashed through the glass where Dawn had cracked it and stood defensively before her, roaring loudly. The grunts faltered backwards, when an alarm began to sound and room began to flash with red lights. Raikou emitted several bolts of lighting, making to grunts back off more. I grabbed the wrench Dawn had used and ran over to Suicune's tube, trying to smash the tube open. Ash had gotten away from the grunts surrounding him and began to smash Entei's tube. We only managed to crack the glass, because it was so strong. So we both destroyed the machinery next to the tubes, preventing any more energy from being sucked from the legendaries. Entei and Suicune slowly recovered and rose to their feet.

"Stop them!" A grunt shouted, the grunts began to approach us, but were stopped short when an Electivire appeared before them.

"Thunder!" I heard Paul shout, Electivire shot bolts of lightning at the grunts, sending them flying backwards. Suddenly, the door to the engine room opened up; revealing a small army of Rocket grunts, lead by the admin from before.

"What is going on here?" the admin shouted, he was about to step in but stopped short when Raikou leapt in front of the door way. He sent lightning flying, everywhere, electrocuting the admin and several more grunts.

Entei and Suicune roared fiercely and smashed though their glass tubes.

"They're free! Now let's get out of here!" Paul shouted. Suicune looked at me and motioned for me to hop on his back. Wordlessly, I climbed up onto his back. Looking around I saw Ash climbing on Entei, and Dawn onto Raikou. As Paul was returning Electivire, Raikou grabbed his jacket with his mouth and threw him over onto his back in front of Dawn.

The three beasts roared loudly and dashed to the door, barging through the small army of grunts still conscious and raced down the halls at unbelievable speed. Alarms were ringing loudly and the halls flashed with red lights. I grabbed Suicune tightly as to not fall off. It dawned on me that we had to go down a level to escape, but how would everyone fit in an elevator?

_Screw elevators..._

It was as if the Entei, Suicune, and Raikou knew the ship like the back of their paws. They quickly found a staircase, breaking through the doors and racing down them. When we reached to lowest level we found another large group of Team Rocket Grunts waiting for us.

Entei shot a pillar of fire out of his mouth at the grunts, who all dove to the side to avoid catching on fire, creating an entry. We ran through the narrow gap Entei had made. Suicune and I were in the back of the group. The grunts began to close us off as Entei and Raikou got through, but Suicune effortlessly leapt over the grunts and made a speedy getaway. We found Ash's Pokémon still guarding the lowered ramp.

"Slow down!" Dawn shouted to the Raikou, who was far from slowing down.

"We're still in the air!" I exclaimed, "We can't just hop out!" but Suicune just ignored me and actually ran faster. With a mighty roar, the three beasts ran down the ramp and leapt to freedom... Or in this case free fall...

I let out a scream and clung to Suicune's fur tightly, feeling as if I was being lifted away from it. These things were crazy; they had just leapt off a high-flying aircraft. I suddenly felt my weight return and heard a loud thump. I opened my eyes and saw Suicune, Entei, and Raikou were running across a tall skyscraper. They leapt in the air and jumped to another one. Behind us, the Team Rocket aircraft was open firing at us, but this time with bullets.

The three legendaries dashed from side to side, avoiding the bullets. I heard Dawn let out a scream; I looked ahead and saw a tall building in front of us. Suicune effortlessly jumped off the building and smashed through the window building before us. I duck down to avoid the sharp glass, wincing as I felt a few shards scratch me.

Suicune came to a screeching halt inside the building, before long, Entei and Raikou also smashed through the windows of the building and came to a stop.

...

"Crazy ride, eh?" Ash asked. I took a deep breath and nodded.

"We can't stay here long," Paul said, "Team Rocket will be here soon."

Dawn sighed and laid down on Raikou's back. "So what do we do now?"

* * *

><p><strong>Ash POV<strong>

"So what do we do now?" Dawn asked as she lazily laid on Raikou's back.

Paul looked at me, "You seem to have lots of bright ideas," he told me, "What do we do next?"

_"I have but one valuable piece of advice for you that may save the world..."_

Dawn took off her mask and hat, lazily throwing them on the ground. She then proceeded to take off the grunt uniform that she had put over her normal clothing. Without really thinking, we all did the same.

_"There are few forces capable off defeating the monstrosity that is about to be created..."_

I was hearing the voice that spoke to me while I was dead, as if giving me a recap of what he had told me.

_"When force you need turns against you, use your special gift..."_

I looked around; everyone was looking at me expectantly. Even the Legendary Beasts seemed to be awaiting my next command.

_"Do you think the monstrosity the voice was talking about was Mewtwo?"_

I almost jumped when I heard May's voice in my head. I looked at her again, blinking a few times.

_"Do you think Rayquaza is the force you need to stop him?"_

_But how am I supposed to stop Rayquaza?_ I thought to myself,_ I can't battle it, Pikachu and my other Pokémon could get hurt badly._

_Speaking of which..._

"Oh no!" I exclaimed, sitting up straight.

"What is it Ash?" May asked.

"Pikachu! Gengar! And Lucario! They're back on the aircraft!" I exclaimed. Suddenly I heard a familiar perky voice.

"Pikapi!"

I turned and looked out the window, and saw my three Pokémon riding Tropius.

"Pikachu!" I exclaimed, leaping off Entei and running to my electric type, hugging him tightly.

"Pika pika..." Pikachu, snuggling into a chest.

"Ahem..." I heard Paul cough, as if he wanted me to focus again.

I turned and looked at my three traveling partners. "We have to get Rayquaza, and battle Mewtwo with it." I told them. May smiled and nodded, while Paul and Dawn looked confused.

"How will you get it?" Paul asked, "He's kind of rampaging around right now."

I sighed, "I have to use my _'special gift' _to get him," I told him.

Dawn tilted her head, "Special gift?" she asked.

"Ash thinks he needs to use his aura," May said. I nodded in agreement.

"Exactly, with the three legendary beasts and my aura, we should somehow be able to stop Rayquaza and use it to battle Mewtwo," I explained.

Paul looked at me, as if he didn't believe anything I just said, "You have got to kidding," he said.

I shook my head, "Nope."

**"GENGAR!"**

Gengar began to frantically run around the room, "Gen! Gen gar **gar **gen gar!" he shouted. He was holding his head tightly as he ran around. He ran around in several circles before growing dizzy and falling on his face.

"Gengar, is something wrong?" I asked him. Gengar stood up and face-palmed.

"Geeeeen," he said as if saying "Duh."

"Well what's the problem?" I asked. Gengar pointed out the window. Outside the large aircraft was looming, and it shot several missiles at the building.

"Oh boy..." I said.

***BOOM!***

The building shook and slowly felt as if it were tipping over.

"Oh no!" May shouted, grabbing Suicune tightly, "Not again!"

"We have to get out of here!" I shouted. Pikachu, Gengar, Lucario and I all hopped on Entei. Tropius had disappeared, likely to find Palmer.

The building began to tilt faster; furniture in the building began to slide away from the windows. The three beasts dashed towards the windows and leapt out, they landed on the falling building and began to run down the toppling skyscraper. With another jump, they jumped off the falling building on the road below.

"We have to find Rayquaza!" I shouted to Entei, who roared and dashed forward. We all ran down roads, making twists and turns, trying to find Rayquaza amongst the tall buildings and avoiding Team Rocket, who were still chasing us.

**"Halt!"**

The three beasts stopped in their tracks, stunned by the force of the words.

_Who had said that?_I thought, but that question was answered quickly. Mewtwo, in his new robotic uniform, teleported himself before us.

"Mewtwo!" Dawn shouted. She got off Raikou and ran up to the floating Pokémon.

"Dawn! Wait!" Paul exclaimed, but she ignored him.

"Mewtwo! You can fight for control!" Dawn exclaimed as she looked up at him, "You can free yourself!"

"Shut up, inferior!" Mewtwo exclaimed, raising a hand and charging up a Shadow Ball.

"Dawn..." Paul said, as if urging her to come back.

"You can break free!" Dawn shouted, "Mewtwo! You're a good Pokémon!"

Mewtwo halted the Shadow Ball, "A..._ Good Pokémon_?" it asked, as if confused.

"Yes Mewtwo," Dawn said, "You're better than this! You don't have to be controlled by Team Rocket!"

At the sound of Team Rocket's name, Mewtwo grew angry and charged up a Shadow Ball again.  
><strong><br>**_**"SHUUUUUUUT UUUUUP!" **_he exclaimed. He shot the ball at Dawn, who braced herself for the attack, but was pushed out of the way when she was tackled to the ground by Paul.

Without a word, Raikou, dashed forward, picking up Dawn and Paul gently in his mouth, and dashed off. Before I knew it, Suicune and Entei were doing the same. I looked behind and saw Mewtwo simply watch us escape.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

We quick dashed away from Mewtwo, who didn't seem to put up a chase. Now all we had to do was find Rayquaza and somehow catch it. Looking over at Raikou, I saw were now Paul and Dawn riding silently on his back as he sped down the road. Dawn had a frown on her face and looked down, watching a ground zip by her.

We heard a mighty roar, and saw a Hyper Beam fly across the road, firing through a building.

"I think we found him!" Ash exclaimed. Turning to the left as we reached an intersection, we indeed saw Rayquaza flying around, wreaking havoc and blowing up buildings.

"This battle starts now!" Ash said as he leapt off Entei, along with Lucario, Gengar, and Pikachu. Following his lead, I got off Suicune as Dawn and Paul climbed down Raikou.

The three legendaries ran towards the flying Pokémon causing so much chaos. Ash didn't even need to give them commands. Entei, Suicune, and Raikou jumped around and threw attacks at the evil Rayquaza. But unfortunately, with a quick sweep of Hyper Beams, Rayquaza sent them all flying.

The three beasts stood back up and attacked again. But no matter how much power they had, they couldn't overcome a Pokémon as powerful as Rayquaza. Realizing they couldn't fight it, Entei, Raikou, and Suicune retreated. They ran back to us, panting heavily. Rayquaza was now angrier than before, and began to approach us.

"Ash! Now would be a good time to stop it!" Paul shouted as he stood defensively in front of Dawn. Ash nodded and twisted his hat backwards.

"Ash!" I shouted, he turned and looked at me, "Don't you need those special gloves to summon the aura?" Ash's eyes went wide with realization. He had no way to summon his aura.

Rayquaza drew closer, menacingly approaching us.

"Sometime today, Ketchum!" Paul shouted. But Ash looked confused; he had no idea of what to do next.

_"It said that when the monster appeared, the force I need to stop it will turn against me and that I'll have to use my special gift to stop it."_

Rayquaza let out a roar, as he glared at us.

_"I'll have to use my special gift to stop it."_

What special gift? If it wasn't his aura what on earth could the voice have been talking about?

_Special gift..._

I clamped my eyes shut, thinking as hard as I could to figure this out. _What special gift? What special gift?_

My eyes snapped open. _What if the gift wasn't an ability, but an actual object?_

And then it dawned on me...

"Ash!" I shouted, Rayquaza was now charging up a Hyper Beam, "Use your Master Ball!"

* * *

><p><strong>Bet you didn't see that coming. You probably thought I had forgotten about Dawn's present to Ash. Nope! I had this planned all along. (I bet you didn't think I was that clever...)<strong>

**So what do you think will happen next? Leave a review! And for those who don't review, thanks for reading, I hope you've been enjoying the story. :D**

**And like I said before, there probably won't be a update next Friday :(**


	26. Chapter 26: Battle of Legends

**Chapter 26: Battle of Legends**

* * *

><p><strong>Yep, so I took a little break during thanksgiving, which was nice, but it feels good to get back into the swing of things.<strong>

**So a bunch of people seem to be thanking people for stuff in other fanfictions I've read lately, I figured I might as well do the same.**

**For starters, I'd like to thank all the readers and reviewers. Special thanks to Ghost For Linkin Park, Kittyattack, ClarinetOverlord, TankTheAggron, Yin-Yang Yo-Yo, and TheEpicChicken for faithfully reviewing most of the chapters.**

**Thanks for featuring my story a while ago, as well as PichuAuraGardian18 and beastmode953 for reviewing and mentioning FTaL in their stories (Which are both awesome, make sure you read them)**

**Again, thanks to everyone who has taken time to read this, it means a lot to me :D**

**Anyways, I don't own Pokémon.**

**Read and be happy.**

* * *

><p><strong>MAKE SURE TO READ THE AN AT THE END.**

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

"Ash! Use your Master Ball!"

I looked at May with wide eyes. _That's it!_ I thought, _that must be the 'special gift'!_

Rayquaza was charging up a Hyper Beam as I unclipped the Master Ball from my belt. I enlarged the ball and threw it at Rayquaza. The ball hit the large Pokémon and covered him in red, sucking him into the ball.

The Master Ball dropped to the ground. We all watched it carefully as it shook. The ball shook so violently that it was as if it was throwing itself around, I thought for sure it would break.

_*Ding*_

Our jaws went slack, Pikachu slowly approached the Master Ball, carefully picking it up and carrying it over to me.

"Whoa..." I mumbled as I looked at the Master Ball Pikachu put in my hand.

May, Dawn, and Paul approached me. "So now what do we do?" Dawn asked as she walked up.

"Well, we should-" I was cut off when I felt the Master Ball slip from my hands. I spun around and saw Mewtwo flying away with it.

"**HEY!**" I shouted. I leapt onto Entei and dashed down the road after Mewtwo.

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

I watched with surprise as I saw Mewtwo fly by and swipe Ash's Master Ball holding Rayquaza.

"**HEY!**" Ash shouted, without a second to think, he and Pikachu leapt on Entei, who dashed down the road after Mewtwo. We all exchanged glanced before Paul and I scurried over to Raikou and May got onto Suicune with Lucario.

With mighty roars, the two beasts ran down the road as well. We slowly but surely caught up to Entei as Mewtwo attempted to swiftly turn and make tricky maneuvers to lose them.

"Mewtwo!" I exclaimed, "Stop!"

Mewtwo slowed down for a brief second and looked back at me. Suddenly, Entei leapt up into the air and wall jumped off the side of a building. Ash jumped off Entei in midair and tackled Mewtwo.

Mewtwo began to struggle, trying to shake Ash off him, even going as far as to slam him into the side of a building.

"Give me that Master Ball!" Ash shouted as he clung to Mewtwo.

"Never!" Mewtwo exclaimed before shooting high into the air.

"Ash!" May exclaimed as the two quickly began to shrink into the sky.

"What do we do? We have to save Ash!" I asked.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_"So... What are you doing up here?" I asked Mewtwo, we were on the second floor of an abandon building after he saved Lucario and I._

_Mewtwo looked at me for a second, as if looking into my mind and reading my thoughts._

_"Hiding," was all Mewtwo said, I cocked my head._

_"But you're so powerful," I told him, "I've just saw you effortlessly send a grown man into a building without touching him, why hide?"_

_Mewtwo sighed, "I'm healing..." I suddenly noticed a large mark on Mewtwo's shoulder, it occasionally sparked with a dark looking electricity._

_"How-?" I began._

_"Shadow Ball," Mewtwo said, "Cursed super effective moves..."_

* * *

><p>I looked over at Gengar, who was worriedly watching as Mewtwo flew off.<p>

_I don't want Mewtwo to get hurt,_ I thought. _But I don't want Ash to get hurt either.__  
><em>  
>"Gengar!" I shouted, the Shadow Pokémon turned and looked at me. "Shadow Ball on Mewtwo!" I told him. Gengar nodded and shot into the air chasing after Mewtwo while charging up a Shadow Ball.<p>

"Are you crazy?" May exclaimed, "If Gengar hits Mewtwo, Ash could fall!"

Too late, Gengar had already fired the Shadow Ball.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

I clung onto Mewtwo, refusing to let go as we flew higher and higher into the air. My ears popped as we gained altitude.

"Let go, fool!" Mewtwo shouted.

"No!" I exclaimed, trying to reach for the Master Ball in his hand. Suddenly, a Shadow Ball came out of nowhere and slammed into Mewtwo. The jolt of the attack forced Mewtwo from my grip and the Master Ball from his hand. I went into a free fall as Mewtwo was recovering. The Master Ball was also tumbling back to earth, but just out of reach. Mewtwo, looked down at me and shot downward. Knowing I had to act fast, I managed to launches myself enough to grab the Master Ball at the same time as Mewtwo.

"Let go!" he shouted as we fell.

Clamping my eyes shut, I pressed down on the button on the Master Ball, praying Rayquaza would be back to normal. With a flash, the Master Ball opened and Rayquaza emerged.

I sighed in relief as I saw he was green again, and his eyes no longer glowed red. With a roar, he snatched me and flew away from Mewtwo.

"Oh no you don't!" Mewtwo exclaimed, throwing a Shadow Ball at Rayquaza as he flew away from him. Rayquaza dove down to earth and avoided the Shadow Ball.

He slithered through several skyscrapers before finding the others. Rayquaza came to a halt and put me down.

"Ash!" May exclaimed, she ran over and hugged me.

"I was gone for a whole two minutes and you already miss me?" I asked.

May scratched her head and laughed, "Well-" but she was cut off as Mewtwo came swooping down from the air. He grabbed her and lifted her into the air.

"May!" I shouted. I leapt onto Rayquaza's back and we both flew into the air after Mewtwo. The psychic type spun around charging up a Shadow Ball while hold May.

"Come on inch closer and the girl gets a Shadow Ball through her head," Mewtwo said evilly. Rayquaza came to a halt and hovered before Mewtwo.

Rayquaza turned to me, awaiting my command. I just held up a hand to silently signal him to stay still.

"Don't follow us," Mewtwo said. He chucked the Shadow Ball at us and caught Rayquaza off guard, hitting him hard.

Rayquaza roared and fell backwards; we both were slammed into a building, and broke through the brick wall.

I slowly got to my feet, Rayquaza also slowly recovered. I walked over to the hole in the wall we had created and couldn't see May or Mewtwo anywhere.

"Ash!"

I looked down at the road and saw Dawn, Paul, Pikachu, Gengar, and Lucario standing at the foot of the building.

"Are you okay?" Dawn shouted from below.

I nodded, "No need to worry!" I told her, giving her a thumbs up. Rayquaza lifted his head looking around before grabbing me and flying back down to the ground.

"Where's May? Did you save her?" Dawn asked. I sadly shook my head.

"No, I lost her," I told her sadly.

Paul stepped forward and put the Master Ball in my hand. "Mewtwo dropped this after grabbing May," he said.

I sighed and looked at the Master Ball, "We have to save May, but where would she be?" I said to no one particular.

Paul sighed and looked up at the sky, "Probably in that giant aircraft," he said.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

Mewtwo fired the Shadow Ball at Ash and Rayquaza, knocking them into a building.

"No!" I shouted. Suddenly everything turned blindingly white and with an odd flash, the blinding light went away. I looked around and realized I was back in the giant aircraft where we had saved Raikou, Entei, and Suicine from Team Rocket.

"How'd I get here?" I asked aloud. I realized Mewtwo still had a tight grip on me; he must have teleported me to the aircraft.

_"Hm? What is this?"_

I saw the man I recognized as Giovanni, he approached us with several guards. "I told you to get Rayquaza! Not a worthless girl!" Giovanni exclaim angrily. His little comment boiled my steam.

"I'm not a worthless girl!" I shouted.

Giovanni looked down at me, "Hmm, you look familiar," he said with a smirk, "Aren't you one of those brats who trespassed onto Team Rocket property?"

"So what if I am?" I asked him angrily, trying to free myself from Mewtwo's grip.

"Master," Mewtwo growled angrily, "Rayquaza has been freed by that boy, and now follows his orders. I took the girl as hostage to use as bait."

Giovanni smirked, "I knew you brought her here for a good reason, now be gone. We'll deal with this brat's friends."

Mewtwo nodded, gesturing to me, "What should I do with her?"

Giovanni glared at me for a moment before laughing, "She's of no value to me now, kill her." my eyes widened with fear. Giovanni and his grunts walked away as Mewtwo dragged me in the opposite direction.

With another flash of light, we teleported, but this time the breeze picked up. I looked around and saw the sky; we were standing on top of the aircraft, which was flying above the Blackthorn City shooting at something.

Without a word, Mewtwo threw me off the ship down towards the ground far below.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

I flew on Rayquaza's back with my Pokémon while Dawn and Paul flew on Togekiss's back. We shot through the air racing after the Team Rocket aircraft, which was flying away from us.

Luckily with Rayquaza's speed we managed to catch up to the ship, which open fired on us. Rayquaza spun through the air and dodged the ammunition that zipped by. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Mewtwo, still in his robotic uniform standing on the aircraft. I took a closer look and realized he was holding May. I watched as he effortlessly tossed her off the ship, before teleporting away.

"We gotta save May!" I told Rayquaza. But before he had a chance to react, Mewtwo teleported before us and used Psystrike. The attacked slammed into Rayquaza knocking me and my Pokémon off his back. Luckily, we landed on the top of a skyscraper. Pikachu, Lucario, Gengar, and I all rose to our feet.

Mewtwo floated down menacingly before and began to charge up another Psystike. I unclipped Gible and Totodile's Pokéballs and called them out.

"Pikachu, Thunder! Gengar, Shadow Ball! Lucario, Aura Sphere! Gible, Dragon Pulse! Totodile, Hydro Pump!" I exclaimed, my Pokémon quickly charged up their attacks and fired them at the hovering Mewtwo. With a mighty blast, the attacks collided into Mewtwo and sent him flying backwards.

"Yes!" I exclaimed. Suddenly, Mewtwo released the Psystrike and threw it at us. I would have gotten hit but Lucario jumped in front of me and took the blow of the attack. "No!" I shouted, all my Pokémon fell to the ground. Pikachu, Gengar, Gible, Totodile, and even Lucario fell unconscious.

"Stupid weaklings," Mewtwo grumbled as he approached me, "With this suit, I'm more powerful than ever, there's no way you can stop me!"

I gulped as he menacingly charged up another Psystrike, this time aimed directly at me.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

I let out a scream as I helplessly fell. There was nothing I could do; I didn't have any flying Pokémon to save me, not even Ash was there.

Out of nowhere a hand grabbed my arm.

"Need a lift?"

I looked up and saw Dawn grabbing my arm while riding Togekiss with Paul. "I guess this brings your "save May" count to two." I said with a slight laugh.

"Yeah, but I'm only giving you one more chance," Dawn joked, "I'm getting tired of having to save you... Now could you help me pull her up, Paul? I'm not that strong."

Paul reached down and also grabbed my arm. With a loud grunt, they both pulled me up.

"Togekiss can't fly with three people for very long," Dawn said. Togekiss indeed was already panting. "We need to land quickly."

Togekiss descended and gently landed on the ground. With a sigh, I hopped off her back along with Dawn and Paul.

"Now what?" I asked as I brushed myself off.

"Togekiss is too tired to fly anymore," Dawn said as she returned Togekiss. "We don't have any other Pokémon that can fly either."

I turned to Paul, "Hey, don't you have a Honchcrow? I saw you use it when you teamed up with Ash in one of the battle facilities."

Paul checked his Pokéball belt and sighed, "I don't have him with me, I'd have to go to the Pokémon Center and get him."

Dawn quickly grabbed my and Paul's hand and pulled us down the road. After a bit of running, we reached the Pokémon Center, but there was a problem.

"Why are all the lights out?" Dawn asked. The lights were indeed out, and Nurse Joy was nowhere to be seen. We stepped over to the Pokéball transferor and television phone.

"They're all off," Dawn said.

Paul unclipped a Pokéball, "I got this," he tossed the Pokéball, "Electivire, I need your assistance." His electric type came out and emitted a little electricity as he was released.

Paul looked behind the television phone and Pokéball transferor. He pulled out two plugs and handed them to Electivire. "Light these up for a minute," Paul told him.

Electivire's hands sparked up the plugs to the two electronics, causing them to both hum to life.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

Right as Mewtwo was about to strike, he was interrupted by an Extreme Speed delivered by Rayquaza, who knocked him away. Angered by the interruption, Mewtwo let out a low growl and fired a Shadow Ball at Rayquaza.

"Look out!" I shouted, Rayquaza spun out of the way to avoid the Shadow Ball. I was about to give another command, but realized I didn't know most of Rayquaza's move. I quickly pulled out my Pokédex and scanned Rayquaza, checking the Sky High Pokémon's move set.

"Alright..." I said, after quickly scanning through the list. I looked around and checked on my slowly recovering Pokémon before returning the battle.

"Dragon Pulse!" I shouted. Rayquaza threw his head back and fired a blue orb at Mewtwo, who swiftly dodged the attack.

"It's on," Mewtwo growled began firing a barrage of Shadow Balls. Rayquaza was fast, but failed to dodge all of them. He let out a roar as he was hit by three of the Shadow Balls.

"Extreme Speed!" I shouted. Before Mewtwo could react, Rayquaza shot forward and rammed into him. Mewtwo was brutally slammed into a building, partially damaging his suit.

"Grrrrrr..." Mewtwo growled as a few sparks appeared from the suit.

_We have to destroy that suit,_ I thought, _it's the only way to snap him out of this._

Mewtwo stretched out his hands and a blue aura began to glow around Rayquaza. Rayquaza tried to squirm around and fly away, but he was stuck.

_Mewtwo's using Confusion_, I concluded. Mewtwo floated over to the stuck Rayquaza and charged up a Shadow Ball.

"Dinner is served," Mewtwo said before shoving the Shadow Ball into Rayquaza's mouth. Rayquaza roared and used Hyper Voice. I covered my ears as he used the loud attack. Parts of the Shadow Ball from before were spewed out of his mouth as he emitted powerful sound waves.

Mewtwo was unable to handle the horribly loud noise and was forced to retreat.

"Another Extreme Speed!" I shouted. Rayquaza once again shot forward before doing a forward flip in midair, slamming his tail into Mewtwo in the process. The Psychic type was knocked downward and slammed into the ground, damaging the suit controlling him further.

"Keep up the awesome work!" I shouted to Rayquaza, "Now use Crunch!" Rayquaza dove downward towards Mewtwo. Mewtwo quickly recovered and flew away from Rayquaza. With a roar, Rayquaza chased after Mewtwo, he was not about to give up.

"Armor... Needs... Repair..." Mewtwo grumbled. With a forceful wave of the hand, he threw a Psystrike at Rayquaza. The psychic type attack hit Rayquaza, causing him to tumble backwards. Rayquaza let out a low, angry growl as he recovered.

Mewtwo stretched his hands out and used Confusion on Rayquaza again. "You're just asking for seconds," Mewtwo said menacingly. He charged up another Shadow Ball and held it up to the helpless Rayquaza.

"Hyper Voice!" I shouted. Rayquaza opened his mouth wide and screeched again, the Shadow Ball back fired and hit Mewtwo, causing him to grunt in pain.

"I don't have time for this..." Mewtwo grumbled, with that, he shot into the sky, attempting to escape.

"We can't let him get away!" I shouted to Rayquaza, I ran to the edge of the building and jumped off. Rayquaza quickly swooped over and caught me, putting me on his back before flying after Mewtwo.

"Try to hit it with a few Dragon Pulses!" I shouted over the rushing wind. Rayquaza charged up the attack and fired several at Mewtwo, who dodged them all easily.

"Mewtwo!"

We all looked over and saw a Honchcrow flying towards us with Dawn on its back. Dawn was a long enough of a distraction to allow Rayquaza to hit Mewtwo with a Dragon Pulse. Mewtwo spun out of control and slammed into a skyscraper before falling to the ground with a crash.

"If that didn't destroy the suit, I don't know what will," I said.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

After retrieving Honchkrow, Dawn insisted on finding Mewtwo with it, leaving me and Paul to fend for ourselves at the Pokémon Center.

"We should probably find Mewtwo as well," Paul said, "Can't let Dawn do any to stupid." I nodded in response before we both dashed out of the Pokémon Center.

Surprisingly, Mewtwo wasn't hard to find. He was running from Rayquaza when he was distracted by Dawn. Rayquaza hit him with a Dragon Pulse, causing Mewtwo to slam into a building and fall to the ground. Paul and I came to a halt, not daring to get too close to Mewtwo.

With a growl, Mewtwo rose to his feet, his armor was scratched and dented all over, and it didn't appear to be working.

"This armor was been rendered worthless, now it's just an annoyance," Growled Mewtwo as he ripped the suit off himself. Dawn and Ash both landed and got of Honchkrow and Rayquaza respectively.

"Why is Mewtwo still being controlled?" Dawn asked, "He's not wearing that armor anymore."

Paul shrugged. "Rayquaza didn't need it, maybe it simply enhanced his power," He suggested.

"It doesn't matter," Mewtwo said as he rose to his feet, "Even without the suit, I am more powerful than any other creature in the universe!"

"But Mewtwo..." Dawn said gently, slowly and carefully approaching the Pokémon. "It's not about power."

"You know nothing," Mewtwo said, "With this power, I can stop Team Rocket, I can control the world!"

"But control isn't worth anything," Dawn said, still slowly approaching the psychic type.

"It's worth everything!" Mewtwo exclaimed, causing Dawn to step back, "I could finally get revenge on my enemies!"

"But revenge isn't going to get you anywhere. Lashing out for what you want isn't any good," Dawn said, "I learn that the hard way..."

I looked down at my shoes, wincing slightly as I felt a sting of guilt.

"Revenge doesn't make a good person. It only builds up hatred," Dawn said, she began to approach Mewtwo again.

"Well I'm not a good Pokémon," Mewtwo growled. Dawn slowly and gently grabbed Mewtwo's right hand with both of her own.

"Yes you are," she said with a sad smile, "I know it for a fact."

For a brief second, the red in Mewtwo's eyes disappeared, and a he sadly looked at Dawn. But as quickly as it disappeared, the red returned.

"Get away from me!" Mewtwo shouted. Without thinking, I ran forward and tackled Dawn as Mewtwo tried to hit her with a Shadow Ball. We both fell to the ground, barely dodging the Shadow Ball.

"Looks like we're almost even," I told her.

"Almost," She assured me.

"Rayquaza!" Ash shouted, "Outrage!" Rayquaza began to glow orange as his eyes began to burn. With a loud roar, Rayquaza charged forward grabbing Mewtwo and began slamming him into buildings and the road. My jaw dropped as Rayquaza brutally beat Mewtwo, even Paul winced at its merciless attack. With a final swipe, Rayquaza slammed Mewtwo with his tail and sent him into the ground.

"Mewtwo!" Dawn exclaimed, getting up and running over to where the psychic type had fallen. Rayquaza began to look a little dizzy by the release of energy, and began to slam his head into a building.

"Rayquaza! What are you doing?" Ash asked it as the legendary Pokémon hurt itself.

"It's confused," Paul said, "You should return it." Ash nodded and pulled out the Master Ball, returning Rayquaza before he could do any more harm to himself.

"Mewtwo...?"

Looking back at were Mewtwo had fallen, I could see Dawn crouched by him, gently rubbing his back. I, along with Ash and Paul, walked over to Mewtwo, examining the fallen creature.

"Will he be okay?" Dawn asked, looking up hopefully at Ash.

"Hey, this is Mewtwo we're talking about, I'm sure he'll be fine," Ash assured her. A weak smile appeared on Dawn's face as she looked down at Mewtwo, continuing to rub his back.

"You kids are such pests..."

We looked up and saw Giovanni and an army of Team Rocket grunts beginning to surround us. In the distance we could see where the large aircraft had landed.

"Do you really think you can stop me? Honestly, I respect your efforts and abilities that enabled you to make it this far," Giovanni make a gesture as if asking to hand something over. "Unfortunately for you, we have you far outnumbered. Now we'll be taking Mewtwo and Rayquaza."

Ash growled as a few Team Rocket grunts approached us. "I don't have any Pokémon I can use," he whispered to me. Out of seemingly nowhere, a pillar of water shot through the army of grunts, knocking them aside.

"Tote!"

We saw a little blue alligator shooting a Hydro Pump at the grunts, knocking them down and out of the way.

"Totodile!" Ash exclaimed.

Giovanni growled at the disturbance. "Get that annoying little thing!" He shouted. But before the grunts could react, Lucario slide in front of Totodile with his light stick in his hands. He performed Bone Rush on any grunt who dared get too close.

"You have to be kidding me!" Giovanni said, "it's only two puny Pokémon! Strike together!"

With angry shouts, the grunt chargers forward. But before they could reach the two Pokémon, Gengar appeared on front of them and used Confusion on several of the grunts, flinging them into other Team Rocket grunts.

"You fools, attack them with your Pokémon!" Giovanni ordered. The grunts pulled out Pokéballs and tossed them into the air. Before we knew it, the three Pokémon were surrounded.

"Gib?"

Ash's little dragon type walked up to his teammates, seemingly completely oblivious of the Pokémon glaring at him. Without a word, he threw his head back and charged up a Draco Meteor.

"Don't let him finish that attack!" One grunt shouted. A few Pokémon approached Gible menacingly.

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed as he leapt in front of Gible. With another shout he let out powerful charges of electricity, giving Gible enough time to finish his attack.

"Retreat!" Someone shouted as the Draco Meteor was fired into the sky. It blew up and meteors fell everywhere. Totodile began spraying Hydro Pump like crazy, Lucario began chucking Aura Spheres while Gengar threw Shadow Balls, and Pikachu used several Thunder Bolts. It appeared to be chaotic as attacks and grunts flew everywhere.

**"FREEZE!"**

Everything came to a screeching halt as we realized there were several helicopters surrounding us, all pointing guns. "We don't joke around," Giovanni said angrily, "Now hand us the-"

But before he could finish the sentence, Mewtwo's eyes snapped open and he shot into the air.

"What the-?" Giovanni exclaimed. Mewtwo fell from the sky and slammed into the ground while releasing a Psystrike. The attack spread along the ground like a ripple. Three of the many helicopters began to open fire at Mewtwo, but he stretched out his hands and blocked the bullets with Protect. The green half cylinder protected Mewtwo, Dawn, Ash, Paul, and I.

"Ash! Send out Rayquaza!" Mewtwo shouted as he continued Protect.

"But he's still confused," Ash said.

Mewtwo roled his eyes, "Pokémon recover from confusion when they are returned to their Pokéball. Now send him out!"

Ash shrugged and sent Rayquaza out, who appeared outside of the Protect orb. Without a moment to spare, Rayquaza used Extreme Speed on the three helicopters firing, allowing Mewtwo to bring down Protect.

With the two legendaries free to attack, most of the grunts fled, the ones who didn't where quickly taken care of by Ash's Pokémon, either blasting them off or scaring them away. Mewtwo and Rayquaza flew about, ramming into and firing at helicopters.

Before we knew it, all the helicopters were down, now nothing but burning piles of rubble.

"Whoa," Ash said, he ran up to Rayquaza and attempted to big the large Pokémon. "That was incredible Rayquaza!" Rayquaza roared and attempted to return the embrace, but did it clumsily with his short arms.

"Pika pi!"

Ash let go of Rayquaza and turned around just in time to be knocked backwards by his other five Pokémon. I giggled quietly and walked over to him, extending a hand to help him up. With a smile, he grabbed my hand and allowed me to pull him up.

"Dawn..."

We turned and saw Mewtwo in front of Dawn. "Thank you, for believing in me and helping me turn back to normal." he had a small smile on his face as he said it.

"Well, Ash and Rayquaza were the ones who freed you," Dawn said, "I didn't really do anything..."

Mewtwo chuckled and laid a hand on Dawn's shoulder, "You did more than you realize." With a smile, Dawn hugged Mewtwo, who awkwardly returned it.

"Wait, where's Giovanni?" Paul asked, looking around. The head of Team Rocket had indeed disappeared. Suddenly, we heard the whopping of a helicopter and saw Scott and Palmer fly by in Scott's chopper.

"Giovanni is trying to escape to the aircraft!" Palmer shouted over the sounds of the chopper, "We need to stop him, pronto!" We all exchanged glances before we all hoped onto Rayquaza's back. The Pokémon was large enough to carry us all, but Ash returned Gible and Totodile for safety reasons, while Mewtwo float alongside him.

"Take to the sky!" Ash exclaimed, Rayquaza nodded and shot into the sky, followed by Scott's helicopter and Mewtwo. In the distance we could see the aircraft taking off.

"Hyper Beam!" Ash shouted to Rayquaza. Rayquaza threw his head back and fired a powerful pillar of light at the aircraft, but it did virtually no damage. At this point the ship was flying away at full speed.

"The ship must be protected by a force field," Mewtwo concluded as we raced after the ship. "I'll take care of this."

He lifted his hands and his eyes began to glow blue. He quickly shut his eyes, flying blindly. Dawn reached out and held onto Mewtwo, still riding on Rayquaza, to prevent him from fly out of control while flying with his eyes closed.

"It's working!" Paul exclaimed. I looked at the ship and it indeed looked like the force field was turning off.

Suddenly, Mewtwo's eyes snapped open. "FIRE!" he exclaimed. Rayquaza nodded and fired another Hyper Beam. I gasped at the beam's power as it smashed straight through the aircraft, literally coming out from the other side. Now extremely damaged, the aircraft fell from the sky. It fell and crashed into the ground before exploding.

"Whoa..." Dawn said.

* * *

><p><strong>Later: May's POV<strong>

"How many people died?" Ash asked Officer Jenny, who was scribbling something down on her notepad. We stood in the middle of Blackthorn City. The police and firefighters were doing their best to clean up the mess Team Rocket had created.

"We don't know yet, but I don't think there were any survivors when the aircraft crashed," she replied not bothering to look up.

Ash's bottom lip seemed to quiver; he spun around and dashed down the road.

"Ash!" I shouted, but he ignored me.

"Where's he going?" Dawn, who had been embracing Paul, asked,

"I don't know," I told her, "But I'm gonna find out."

I ran down the road, hoping to catch which direction he went, but I lost him, he was nowhere to be seen.

_There's only one place he could be headed, _I thought to myself. I took a deep breath before breaking into a run and dashing out of Blackthorn City, and into the forest. Sure enough, I found him in the same place he had rejected Dawn only a few days ago. He sat quietly on the ground, watching the water in the river pass by.

"Ash?" I asked. He turned and looked at me briefly before twisting back around to face the river.

"Hey May," He said, the tone in his voice had no emotion.

I looked at the ground, "Mind if I sit down?" I asked him. For a moment he was completely silent, but eventually he patted the spot next to him. Without a word, I placed myself down and sat there quietly, trying to think of what to say.

...

"How many people do you think were on that aircraft?" Ash asked, breaking the silence.

I took a deep breath, thinking out how large it was and how large to crew could have been.

"I don't know," I said, "Maybe two hundred?"

Ash sighed depressingly and laid down on his back, "I killed two hundred people..."

I didn't know what he was talking about at first, "What?" I asked him.

"I gave the command," he said, "I told Rayquaza to use Hyper Beam..."

I suddenly realized where he was going with this. He felt responsible for the deaths of those Team Rocket members. "Ash..." I said, trying to think of the right words to say, "You shouldn't think like that. The incident wasn't your fault."

"Then who's was it?" he asked, sounding a little angry.

"Their own," I told him, trying my best to sound calm; "Team Rocket had it coming to them."

"Well why was it me who killed them," he asked sadly.

I sighed, trying to think of what to say, "You were doing what you do best," I told him, "You were acting responsibly trying to stop Team Rocket and save lives." I told him, hoping he would feel better.

"But... I killed them... Giovanni, the admins, the grunts... Jessie, James, and Meowth could have been on the ship for all I know" He said. I laed down beside him, looking him in the eyes.

"It wasn't you," I told him, "You didn't kill them, and it's not your fault..."

Ash sighed and looked up at the sky, "That doesn't make me feel any better."

I scooted a little closer to him, "Well, it'll pass," I told him, "You'll realize the truth soon enough and get over it." I assured him.

Ash sighed and looked back at me, a sad smile on his face, "I guess you're right," he said quietly, "Thanks, May..."

I smiled, happy that I was able to make him feel a little better. We both turned our heads and gazed at the sky, which slowly darkening as the sun was setting.

"Hey, May," Ash asked.

"Yeah, Ash?" I replied.

"About that moment at the Battle Tower..."

* * *

><p><strong>READ THE AN BELOW**

* * *

><p><strong>Back when I played Pokémon Emerald, I caught a Rayquaza with a Master Ball, and taught it to use Fly. Whenever I used Fly to get around, or even in battle, I would always say "Take to the sky" whether I said it loudly or under my breath. So that's why I stuck that phrase in there.<strong>

**(Anyways, on to more important stuff.)**

**As you know, Dawn is going to be headed towards the Grand Festival, and I didn't really create many participants aside from Brendan. So I'm thinking I'll use some OCs, (Own Characters, or whatever you call them) and instead of trying to come up with my own I figured I'd ask you guys for some.**

**So here is the info I will need.**

**OC's Name**

**OC's Gender**

**OC's Appearance (cloths included)**

**OC's Personality**

**OC's Pokémon (No Legendaries allowed, put your favorite Pokémon from top to bottom (favorite to least favorite) so I know which Pokémon to use if I don't use them all (six a max))**

**I'll come up with Pokémon move sets myself, You just list their info (Name, Gender, shiny/not shiny, etc etc) and strategies if you have any.**

**If there's anything I missed, just say so and add it into the OC's profile.**

**I'm announcing this early so I have time to collect the OCs. Deadline is next Friday (aka the 9th)**

**Like always, thanks for reading and be sure to leave a review!**


	27. Chapter 27: Confession

**Chapter 27: Confession**

* * *

><p><strong>Hey thanks all you awesome people who sent me their OCs, I'm definitely excited about them. I will be including two OCs sent to me in this chapter, even if yours doesn't appear, don't panic, he or she will pop up some time or another.<strong>

**On to more interesting stuff!**

**I don't own Pokémon.**

**Read and be happy.**

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"About that moment at the Battle Tower..."

I sighed, I knew it had been coming. If he hadn't asked now it would have been later.

"What about it?" I asked, only making the moment more awkward.

"Don't play dumb with me, May. I know that you know what I'm talking about." Ash said, he sat up from his laying down position, looking down at me.

As much as I didn't want to talk about it I knew there was no avoiding the discussion. "What's your question exactly?" I asked him, not daring to look him in the eyes.

"Was what you said true?" he asked, "Did you really mean it when you said you liked me?"

Letting out another sigh, I sat up beside him. I focused my attention on the river as the dark, blue water rolled by. "Yep," I confirmed, "Everything..."

Ash looked up as the sky, I tried my best not to look at him, I could tell he was thinking. He shifted a little in his spot, "May..." he began.

I decided to cut him off, "Ash, you told me about how you rejected Dawn, in this very spot none the less," I set my focus on the ground, drawing in the sand. "I know how much pain it caused you, and I don't want you to have to go through that again."

"May..." He tried to say again. I cut him off again and stood up, my eyes focused on the water. "I understand if you're not interested," I told him, "I just said that because of the moment..." I wiped away a tear that began to run down my cheek, "No pressure, we can still be friends... Best friends..."

I began to walk away, not looking back. "May! Wait!" Ash said, I could hear him scrambling to his feet and rush over to me, laying a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't make this harder than it has to be..." I said, pushing his hand off.

"May, it's not like that!" Ash said. I froze for a second before spinning around and finally looking at him.

"Wait? It's not?" I asked.

Ash sighed, "Yeah, I'm not quite sure why you assumed it was." He scratched the back of his head, looking around, "Listen May, I honestly know nothing about '_love_' at this kind of level," He said, making quotes in the air with his fingers. "But, I'm feeling this kind of this thing right now... A spark or buzz or something... It was this feeling I didn't feel when Dawn confessed," Ash explained, "May, I may seem completely clueless about love. But, I think I may like you... At least, like the way Dawn and Paul like each other..."

...

I stood there for a moment with a slack jaw, trying to process what he had just said.

"May?" Ash asked, but I had spaced out.

I shook my head and snapped out of my trance. "Can I try something?" I asked him. He shrugged and shook his head. I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him on the lips, I thought this moment would never have come.

We broke and I backed off a bit, being sure to give him room in case he freaked out, but he seem unresponsive. "Well?" I asked him.

He blinked a few times; "Um..." he tried to say.

"How was that?" I asked him, hoping for a positive response.

"What do you mean?" He asked. It too all my self-control not to face-palm or sweat-drop.

"On a scale of one to five, how would you rate that?" I asked him, if he didn't get that I didn't know what would.

...

"A six," He said, smiling a little. I quietly squealed and hugged him tightly.

"So does this mean that... Um... You know... That we're..." I tried asking him.

"We're what?" Ash asked, not catching what I was trying to say.

I face-palmed, Ash may have confessed, but he still had a long way to go.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"And then I kissed him." I told Dawn.

"No way!" She said, her face lighting up.

"I know, right?"

"Was he cool with it?"

"I'm pretty sure."

Dawn and I were sitting in our reserved room in the Pokémon Center, the power had been restored and Nurse Joy had returned. Apparently she had taken the sick Pokémon staying there and hid them down in the hidden basement below the Pokémon Center. We were packing up, preparing to finally leave Blackthorn City. Ash and Paul were out getting supplies.

"I never thought I would say this but... That's _awesome_, May," Dawn said cheerfully as she packed her clothes. "It's about time too."

I sighed and stuffed some clothes into my pack, "Yeah, I can't believe it took a trip through the entire Johto region just to say that to him."

We continued to silently pack our stuff, but Dawn broke the silence, "May," she began, "I'm really sorry you can't participate in the Grand Festival..."

I sighed and put on a sad smile, "Yeah, it would have been fun," I told her, "But oh well, it'll be interesting to watch it instead of perform." the last sentence left a bad taste in my mouth.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

"Potions?"

"Check."

"Repels?"

"Check."

"Pokéballs?"

"Check."

"Oran Berries?"

...

"Oran Berries?"

I was going through a checklist and Paul was checking to make sure that everything was in the shopping kart, but he seemed to lose focus all of a sudden. With a quizzed look on his face he pulled out several bottles of ketchup and bags of potato chips.

"What are these for?" he asked. I shot an accusing look at Pikachu and Gengar, who were pretending to be unaware of the situation.

I sighed and shook my head, taking the ketchup and chips from Paul and putting them back on the shelf.

"Gen gen gar gar gengar!" Gengar tried to negotiate, grabbing the bag of chips and pointing at the potato chips in the picture on the bag.

"Gengar, we can't buy all these, they're too expensive," I told him.

"Gengar," Gengar protested, hugging the bag of chips.

"Tell you what," I began, "I'll get you a big plate of fries if you put those back, deal?"

Gengar looked at the bag of chips and back at me. He blinked a few times before smiling and putting the chips back.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

Dawn and I finished packing our stuff as Ash and Paul walked in with the supplies. "Are you guys ready to go?" Ash asked.

We were headed towards the Grand Festival, where Dawn would participate and go up against the best coordinators in Johto. I had mixed feelings about the situation, although Dawn and I had had our fights and arguments, we eventually set them aside and became friends. I wanted the best for her, but at the same time, hoped she wouldn't win, it would feel weird if she had won a Grand Festival before I did. As selfish as it sounded, I felt I deserved the Grand Festival trophy more than Dawn. But of course, I only had four ribbons.

"May, are you okay?" Ash asked, snapping me from my train of thoughts. Figuring I could go to him for comfort, I silently embraced him, letting out a long sigh.

"I'm just okay," I told Ash as I held onto him. I could feel his arms wrap around me, sending a comforting warmth through my body.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ash asked. I looked up and pecked him on the lips.

"Maybe later," I told him before letting him go and walking out of the room.

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

The Grand Festival was taking place on Mount Silver, and typically this would mean that we would have a long journey ahead of us. We would have to leave Blackthorn City and travel down to New Bark Town, hop on a ferry to Pallet Town and then head up to Mount Silver. But thanks to a new road that had been recently constructed, we could head straight to Mount Silver from Blackthorn City.

We traveled down the road, keeping fairly quiet. Ash and Paul both realized there wasn't time to go take on the mysterious final Frontier Brain, and agreed to head towards the Grand Festival.

After defeating Team Rocket, Ash decided to let Rayquaza go, but before he could destroy the Master Ball, Rayquaza protested and snatched it away. We don't really know what the legendary did with it, but we occasionally saw him fly above us as we walk down the path.

"Looks like Rayquaza is following us," Paul said as the flying, green Pokémon flew by.

"He must have grown attached to Ash," I said.

And Mewtwo... I actually don't know what happened to Mewtwo, he disappeared after saying a quick goodbye and giving me a hug.

Ash and May walked a little ahead with Pikachu on Ash's shoulder, while Gengar was annoying Lucario. May looked as if she was feeling a little down while Ash appeared to be deep in thought.

"Hey, Ash," I began, curiosity getting the best of me, "What's on your mind?"

Ash snapped out of his thoughts, and glanced down at something in his hand, which I couldn't see. "Nothing..." he mumbled. I exchanged glances with Paul, who simply shrugged.

"**RRRRR**!" Lucario growled, it looked like he had had it with Gengar annoying him.

"Gengar! Would you quit annoying Lucario?" Ash exclaim. Gengar sneered at Ash, causing his eyes to widen. "Don't act that way to me! Now cut it out! I'm thinking about something important!"

_Odd_, I thought, Gengar seems _a little out of character, he's normally really friendly, I wonder what's gotten into him..._

"Maybe Ash reconsidering this whole relationship thing with May," Paul whispered to me, snapping me from my thoughts.

I glanced at May, "I certainly hope not," I told him, "May is feeling down as it is."

"**GENGAR**!"

We turned and saw and an angry Gengar coming up the path. He appeared to have been in a fight recently. I turned and looked at the Gengar next to Ash, and then back at the angry Gengar.

"Whose Gengar is that?" I asked aloud. The angry Gengar floated over to the other Gengar and chucked a Shadow Ball at it. The Gengar was hit by the Shadow Ball and knocked the ground. Suddenly, it began to glow and change forms.

"Wha-?" May began as we watched the Gengar shape shift into-

"- A Zoroark!" Ash exclaimed, stuffing whatever he had in his hand into his pocket.

"Gen! Gengar gar gen Gengar!" Gengar shouted angrily as he pointed to and accused the dark type that was rising to its feet.

_So that's why Gengar was acting so strange_, I thought, _it was actually a Zoroark!_

"Zoroark! There you are!"

We turned around and saw a young boy with black, messy hair running up to us.

"Sorry, Zoroark has been a bit disobedient lately," he said as he pulled out a Pokéball and returned the dark type Pokémon. Now that he was closer I could tell he had green eyes, had lightly tanned skin, and was a bit skinny. He wore a white hoodie that was unzipped and wore a Black T-shirt underneath it. He had on blue jeans, black and red boots, and black, fingerless gloves similar to Ash's.

The young boy sighed as he looked at the Pokéball Zoroark was in momentarily before clipping it to his belt. "Sorry about him," the boy said, "I recently caught Zoroark, he seems to have an obedience problem."

We all looked at the new comer, not really knowing what to say. "Oh, sorry, where are my manners?" The boy said, scratching his head and letting out an embarrassed laugh, "My names Adam... Adam Melendez."

"Hey, I'm Ash," Ash said with his usual smile, "And this is my Pikachu, Gengar, and Lucario."

"I'm May," May said, trying to sound cheerful.

"I'm Dawn," I said with a smile.

...

I looked at Paul a moment; he was just looking at Adam. "And this is Paul..." I said, gesturing to him.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Adam Melendez," he said.

I tilted my head, "You told us that already," I told him.

He blinked a few times before blushing, "I did?" he asked, we all nodded, confirm what I had said. "Oh... Oops..." He said, sounding embarrassed.

...

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

After Adam accidentally introduced himself twice, there was a bit of an awkward silence. Not enjoying it in the slightest, I decided to break it.

"So where are you headed, Adam?" I asked him, hoping to stir up a little conversation.

Adam smiled and dug through his backpack, opening it up and finding a small box. He openned the box and showed us five gleaming ribbons. "I'm headed to Mount Silver where the Grand Festival is taking place," He said proudly.

"Hey! That's where we're headed too!" Dawn said excitedly, "You could come with us!"

Adam looked at Dawn and blinked a few times before a smile grew on his face "R-really?" he asked, "I-I wouldn't hate to be a bother."

Dawn exchanged glances with all of us, when she didn't hear any objections she continued. "Come on, it'll be fun!" She said, "We can talk about contest strategies and things like that."

This seemed to perk Adam up, although May just looked deeper into the dumps after seeing the five ribbons. I sympathetically patted her on the back. The trip wasn't as peaceful after that, Dawn and Adam continually talked about different contests and strategies. Paul simply watched in awe as Dawn's mouth never seemed to stop. Adam seemed to mostly listen as Dawn talked, and talked... And talked... And talked... And talked.

It seemed as though Adam and Dawn had become best friends by the time we reached the Pokémon Center which had been placed at the halfway point between Blackthorn City and Mount Silver.

"We should probably stay here for the night," I said as we approached it.

"Dude, I am so hungry right now," Adam said, "I think I could eat a Mamoswine!"

Dawn's expression changed to shock and horror. It took all my self control not to laugh or say anything, May and even Paul had small smirks on their faces. My stomach let out a low rumble as well. I suddenly noticed the wafting smell of the Pokémon Center's cafeteria; I could smell hamburgers and French fries. Gengar's eyes widened and he shot towards the Pokémon Center, he had the right idea.

"Race you to the door!" I shouted. Adam let out a laugh as we both broke into a run, racing to the Pokémon Center. Unfortunately, as Adam ran up to the Pokémon Center, he ran into a girl who was stepping out.

***WHAM!***

The two fell backwards onto their backs, groaning and rubbing their heads.

"You have a lot of nerve running into me..." the girl growled as she stood up. She had silvery, white hair and blue eyes, which twitched with agitation.

"Sorry," Adam said sheepishly, "I was racing my friend here and-" but he stopped short when the girl turned around and walked back into the Pokémon Center.

"Uh... Okay..." Adam said. I gave him a shrug as May, Dawn, Paul, and Lucario approached us.

"Who was that?" Dawn asked.

I shrugged again, "I don't know, she didn't say." I told her. Suddenly, I could hear my stomach growling again. "Heh, let's go eat..."

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

We all sat at the table eating, or on the floor in our Pokémon's case. Dawn was talking with Paul while Adam and I were conversing, May, sat at the end of the table, silently playing with her food.

"I love Pokémon Center food," I said as I took a bite of a hamburger. Adam nodded as he ate, May paid no attention.

"So..." Adam began, "What you think about that Dawn chick?"

I looked up and blinked a few times, "What?" I asked with a mouth full of food.

I took another bite of my hamburger as he continued, "I don't know, she seems nice and cheerful... Maybe you could hook me up with her."

May coughed a little as he said that.

"I don't get it," I told him.

Adam gave me a quizzed look, "I mean... I kinda... You know... Like her..."

I started choked on my food as he said that, he had known her for what, less than three or four hours?

"Adam..." I tried to say, despite the food in my throat, "That not a... Good idea... Dawn is-"

"Hold that thought for one second," He said, "Let me get you a drink so you can swallow your food." Adam quickly got up and walk right into the girl he had bump into earlier, both fell to the floor.

"For real?" The girl exclaimed, "Twice now! I outta-" but she stopped short as she rose to her feet, seeing May.

...

"Are you May? The famous coordinator from Hoenn?" she asked.

"Well... Yeah, I guess..." May said, trying to appear to be more cheerful.

"Wow!" The girl exclaimed, "I am such a huge fan of yours! My name is Harmonia Kisaria, will I be seeing you at the Grand Festival?"

May's face dropped. She quickly got up and rush out of the Pokémon Center.

"May... Wait!" I tried to say, of course I still had food in my throat, Lucario stood up and smacked me hard in the back. I spit out the food, which landed on Harmonia.

"Oh... My..." She began, looking at the chewed up food on her.

"Sorry about that, but I gotta go find May!" I exclaimed, also running out of the Pokémon Center. I looked around, May was no were to be seen, but I could hear a faint crying. I walked around to the back of the Pokémon Center and found May sitting on the ground, leaning up against the wall, by the dumpster. The scene reminded me of when I found Dawn by the dump after she had been electrocuted during a contest.

"May?" I asked, "Are you okay?" I realized how dumb of a question that was, of course she wasn't okay, or she wouldn't have been crying behind the Pokémon Center.

When I didn't get a response, I sat myself down next to her, "Do you want to talk about it now?"

May sniffed a few times and leaned against me. "I was this close to the Grand Festival..." she said sadly, holding up her hand and putting her thumb and index finger close together.

"But I messed up," she murmured, "I distracted Skitty for a whole second in that last contest and blew it..." May sniffed a few times, snuggling into me as she continued, "I've never missed a Grand Festival I was trying to get into, Ash..." she said.

I thought for a moment, thinking about the object that was in my pocket, I stuffed my hand in it and felt the object. _I can't bear to see May like this_, I thought to myself_, I need to at least ask..._

"May..." I began, she looked up at me, "This doesn't have to be the first Grand Festival you miss."

May blinked a few times, processing what I said, "W-w-what?" she asked. I dug through my pocket and pulled out the object. May's eyes widened and she gasped.

"Where did you get that ribbon?" she asked. I gently chuckled and looked at the shiny ribbon in my hand.

"Remember that double contest Ecruteak City we had, when Dawn and I battle against you and Brendan?" I asked her, she nodded her head, remembering the event, "Both Dawn and I won a ribbon..."

I handing it out to her, waiting for her to take it, "But I want you to have it."

May's lips quivers as she looked at the ribbon, "B-But that would be cheap," she reasoned, "I didn't earn this badge fairly..."

I sighed and looked at the badge for a minute, "True..." I said, "But it was my and Pikachu's fault that your heel was hurt during the contest, causing you to lose. You would have had five ribbons if not for that."

May looked at the badge for a minute, considering what I said. "True, give me that," She said, swiping the ribbon from my hand with a laugh. She stood up and gave me a hand, helping me to my feet. No sooner had I stood up when she almost knocked me back over with a hug.

"Thanks Ash, I love you..." she said.

Not quite knowing what to do, I just followed my instinct and hugged her back, "I-I... Uh... Love you too."

She looked at me oddly, letting go of me and backing up, "What kind of response was that?" she asked, "Are you reconsidering this whole thing?"

My eyes widened and I held up my hands, "No! No! This is just... So new to me... I'm kind of stupid when it comes to this stuff..."

May rolled her eyes and smirked, "Tell me about it," she said jokingly.

"Hey!"

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

We returned to the Pokémon Center, were everyone was sitting, Harmonia was sitting at the table waiting as well. Without a word, Ash and I sat down at the table.

"So am I?" Harmonia asked.

"Are you what?" I replied, already forgetting what she said.

"Am I going to see you at the Grand Festival?" she asked.

My face brightened as I spoke up, "Yep," I told her. Dawn and Paul looked at me with quizzed looks.

"She is?" Dawn asked. I smiled and nodded to her.

"I'll explain later," I told her. She nodded and continued to eat her food.

"May, I didn't even know you where a coordinator," Adam said, "I hope we get a chance to battle!"

"Yeah! Me too!" Harmonia said. We all looked at her.

"You're going to be in the Grand Festival too?" Ash asked.

Harmony smiled and put her hands on her hips, "Yeah, why else would I be out here in the middle of nowhere?"

...

"You got lost?" Adam suggested, causing us to all sweat-drop.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

I couldn't help but add a little bounce to my step as we walked down the road headed to Mount Silver. Now excited about what the future would hold, my spirits were lifted.

"May seems a lot more cheerful today than she was yesterday," I heard Adam whisper to Dawn.

I couldn't help but be cheerful, I was headed towards the Grand Festival, Ash and I were in a relationship, oh, and there was a happy ghost type sitting on my head, only brightening my mood more. Gengar was sitting on my head, singing some song he must have come up with, cheerfully singing his name over and over again. Ash was walking next to me with Pikachu on his shoulder and Lucario walking on the other side of him. Dawn and Adam were talking behind us, as Paul walked along side of them.

Harmony was walking ahead of us. Although she wanted to join us on our trip to the Grand Festival, she seemed to keep her distance from Adam.

A thought dawned on me.

"Hey Ash," I began.

He turned and looked at me, "Yeah, May?" he replied.

I glanced back at Dawn, Adam, and Paul, careful to prevent Gengar from losing his balance. "You never told Adam about Dawn."

He glanced back at the three walking behind us. "Yeah you're right," he said.

"Well, what are you gonna do?" I asked him.

He gave me a strange look, "Why does it have to be my problem?" he asked.

I sighed a rolled my eyes, "It's not if you don't care that Adam makes a fool of himself."

Ash looked back at Adam for a second. "Good point," he said, "But I can't tell him now, Dawn and Paul are standing right there."

"Then tell him later," I told him, "But before it's too late."

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

The rest of the walk to Mount Silver remained rather uneventful, we actually reached got to the Grand Festival Plaza before nightfall.

"Oh yeah," Adam said, rubbing his hands together, "We finally reached the Grand Festival, and this time, I'm gonna win it!"

Harmonia huffed and put her hands on her hips, "Yeah right, I'm totally going to be the winner this year."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

Before we knew it, they were both arguing about who was gonna win.

_This is going to be a long Grand Festival_, I thought to myself.

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah, so a lot happened in this chapter, despite it being so short, if you couldn't tell this was the reason May lost that last contest, again, I was thinking ahead (like a boss). I didn't really have much planned aside from that between Blackthorn City and the Grand Festival so I decided to introduce two of the OCs given to me (curtesy of Ghost for Linkin Park and Ying Yang Yo-Yo, read their Advanceshipping fics, <strong>**Hoenn again**** and ****Seeing is Believing**** respectively, good stuf rite der****)**

**Thanks to everyone who sent me OCs, I will be sure to use them all before the Grand Festival is done. So look forward to that.**

**And I'm going to ask you all when this is all said and done whether or not you liked having OCs and the way I handled them. I have an idea for a fic after this that could have OCs in it but I'd like to know if you guys would rather me just stick to the official Pokémon characters or also have OCs too.**

**So keep all that in mind as you continue to read through. Honestly I'm surprised I got this out on time. Exams have been KILLING me.**

**{+(Fancy Ending)+}**


	28. Chapter 28: The Festival Begins

**Chapter 28: The Festival Begins**

* * *

><p><strong>Hioh, time for another chapter. Not much to say besides the fact that there will be even more OCs introduced. So yeah, that'll be fun.<strong>

**Anybody see the animated Pokémon YouTube video that was released egoraptor called "Awesome Series - PokeAwesome - Just a Pokemon Battle"? lol that was the funniest thing ever. If you haven't seen it, go watch it (Unless you don't like crude language)**

**I didn't use to own Pokémon, but now… I still don't. o.O**

**Read and be happy!**

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"Pokédex please."

I dug through my fanny pack and gave Nurse Joy my Pokédex. Dawn, Adam, and Harmonia had already registered; I figured I might as well get it out of the way as well. Nurse Joy thanked me and took the Pokédex from my hand, sticking it into a machine sitting on her desk. She checked the computer really quick before smiling.

"Oh my," she said, "You must be May, the princess of Hoenn." I blushed and scratched the back of my head.

"I guess you could say that," I told her.

"It's great that you'll be-" She looked at the screen for a second, "Wait a minute, the computer hear only has records of four ribbons." She looked me from top to bottom.

"Are you really May, the true princess of Hoenn, or an imposter?" She asked in a demanding tone. I took a step back, suddenly afraid of the Nurse Joy.

"Of course I am!" I told her, "Why would anyone impersonate me?" Then again, I did recall Meowth dressing as me once... And then there was that time Harley wore a replica of my clothes during the Kanto Grand Festival...

"Let me see your ribbons," Nurse Joy ordered. I gulped and pulled out my ribbon case, showing her my five ribbons.

"See? All five of them..." I told her. She took the box from me and inspected each ribbon.

"Real contest ribbons have a secret design that is almost impossible to replicate," Nurse Joy said as she scanned each ribbon, "But these appear to be genuine, you must not be an imposter after all."

Nurse Joy laughed nervously, "Sorry about that outburst, it's just that I simply hate imposters." I sighed and waved it off, grabbing my registration card and walking away. I stepped out of the registration hall and found the others waiting for me outside. I smiled and ran up to them.

"Did you get the registration card?" Ash asked. I smiled and showed it to him. "Awesome! Now let's go eat!" Without a second thought he spun around and dashed towards and closets restaurant.

"Is he always like this?" Harmonia asked.

"Oh, just wait until you see him eat," Dawn said.

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

I couldn't help but snicker, as much as I tried to hold back. Harmonia's face was frozen in an expression of shock and disbelief. She was flabbergasted by Ash and May's appetite. And just when she thought it was over, try both got up from the table and return with more. Not to mention the empty bottles of ketchup and French fry cups strewn about the table.

"They eat more than a Snorlax," Harmonia said.

"The restaurant might run out of food," Adam said.

"Oh, that won't be a problem," Ash said, "Neither May or I like onions, so there will be plenty of those."

"Oh good," Adam said, rolling his eyes, "That makes me feel a whole lot better."

"Hey Dawn," May began, "Are you gonna eat your fries? There aren't any left up there."

"I wonder why?" Harmonia asked sarcastically, glaring at Gengar as I gave May my fries.

"Uh, hey Ash, you might want to deal with this," Harmonia said. We followed Harmonia's line of sight and saw an angry boy with a Gallade yelling at Gengar.

"You selfish little brat!" The boy growled.

Ash stood up and walked over to the angry boy, "What's wrong?" he asked. Now that the boy was up close I could see he had short brown hair and dark green eyes with a silver tint, he was fairly tall and muscular. He wore brown cargo shorts that went down to about the top of his shins; I noticed a black symbol on his left leg. He also had on a long sleeve navy blue shirt, but the long sleeves were pushed up, and had a different grayish symbol in the center of the torso. He had a dark green shoulder backpack slung across his chest over his right shoulder, along with black and yellow running shoes.

"I have been having the worst day of my life!" The boy exclaimed, by this time, we had all stood up and joined Ash, "It's just been one stroke of bad luck after another! And now, this Gengar ate all of the french fries! That was the last straw!"

"Or the last fry," Adam said with a goofy grin.

"SHUT UP!" The boy retorted, earning a surprised expression from Adam, "I don't need your two cents right now!"

"Listen," Ash began, "This isn't the only restaurant with fries. There are plenty of others around here."

"Yes, but this is _Le Fry Française_! They are known for having the best french fries in the world!" The boy exclaimed, "A top coordinator deserves only the best!"

"Take a chill pill," Paul said, "Your temper won't get you through the Grand Festival."

"**I WILL NOT TAKE A CHILL-**" the angry boy exclaimed but was cut short by a slap in the face delivered by Harmonia.

"_Ow_… thanks, I needed that," The boy said, rubbing his sore cheek.

"You're good," I whispered to Harmonia, who smiled and nodded.

"By the way, my name is Tim Broome, and this is my Gallade," the boy explained, now looking a little embarrassed. "Sorry about losing my temper, I.. Uh... Don't normally do that..."

"That's fine," Ash said, "Oh, and I'm Ash, this is Pikachu, this is Lucario, and that's Gengar." He said, gesturing to the purple ghost type.

"That was your Gengar?" Tim asked.

"Yeah," Ash told him with a nod of his head.

Tim scratched the back of his head, "Oh... well... double sorry then."

I coughed a little, trying to get their attention. "Oh, and these are my friends," Ash said, acknowledging our presence, "This is, Dawn, Paul, Adam, Harmonia, and my g-girl friend, May," He said, stumbling a little when trying to mention May.

Tim smiled at us and waved his hand, Gallade mimicked his movement. "So are all of you participating in the Grand Festival?" Time asked.

I decided to speak up, "May and I are, along with Adam and Harmonia, Ash and Paul are more into battling tournaments rather than contests." Tim nodded with understanding.

"Well that's cool," He replied, "I'll look forward to battling you all."

"Yeah! It'll be fun!" Adam said, happy to see the brighter side of Tim.

Tim's stomach growled, causing him to blush with embarrassment, "Heh, I should probably go eat, see you guys later!" Tim said as he walked off.

May sighed and put her hands on her hips. "He seems to be a nice guy," she said.

"After Harmonia showed him her magic slap powers," Adam grumbled.

"You watch what you say and I'll show you my _'magic slap powers_'," Harmonia said menacingly. Adam slowly backing away as the rest of us let out a laugh.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

One of the advantages to participating in the Grand Festival is the fact that you get your own hotel room. Each room has two large beds, a bathroom, a big TV, and a kitchen. Being that it just seemed more appropriate, and that Dawn and I each got a room, we decided to share a room while Ash and Paul had the other.

"Are you excited or what?" Dawn exclaimed excitedly, running into our room and flopping down onto one of the beds.

"This is awesome!" I agreed, "I can't wait to start tomorrow!"

"Oh, that reminds me," Dawn began, pulling out a pamphlet, "We have to go to the opening ceremonies tonight." I flopped down into my bed as well, now gazing at the ceiling.

"It's kind of nerve wrecking," I said, "I've gone through three Grand Festivals, but I still can't get rid of the Butterfrees in my stomach."

"I know what you mean," Dawn agreed, "But once I get started, it's easy." I nodded my head in agreement.

"What are you going to do for the appeal round?" Dawn asked. I was about to respond, but realized I didn't have an answer.

"Oh snaps," I said, "I need to practice!" With that, I dashed out of the door and down the hall.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

Without a word, Paul and I walked into our hotel room. "It's nice," I said. Pikachu, Gengar, and Lucario all made themselves comfortable on one of the beds. Paul simply grunted tossing his backpack on the floor and falling into the other bed, letting out a long, loud groan.

"Are you okay?" I asked him. He rubbed his eyes and sighed.

"What am I doing here?" He asked.

I tilted my head, confused with what he was asking. "You're here to watch the Grand Festival," I told him.

"Why?" he growled.

I thought for a minute, considering what would be a good response, "Because of Dawn," I said.

He sat up, "I'm so confused right now," Paul said, "It's like my priorities have been flipped upside-down. I could have been preparing to fight the final frontier brain. But **no**! I decided to stick around with you guys and watch some watered down Pokémon battles!"

I sat down on my bed kicking off my shoes and putting my feet up on the bed. "It's not watered down," I told him, "Maybe more like... Um... Watered down Pokémon Battles with... Uh... Sprinkles?"

Paul looked at me oddly, "What difference does that make? Do I look like a sprinkles guy to you?" I sighed and shook my head.

"No, I guess not," I admitted.

There was an odd silence, although the fact that it was with Paul made it a little less awkward, he was always the quiet type. "Do you like her?" I asked him, breaking the silence.

"Dawn?" Paul asked, I nodded my head. "Yeah, of course," he admitted, "I'm not saying I don't like her, I just feel like I'm wasting time here."

Pikachu climbed into my lap, automatically I began to gently stroke his fur. "I guess you have to weigh it out," I told Paul, "Which is more worth it, preparing for the frontier battle, or being there for Dawn when she loses?"

"She's not gonna lose!" Paul exclaimed.

A small smirked pulled on my lips, "Oh please, May is gonna win this," I told him.

Paul crossed his arms, "I wouldn't be so sure of that," He said, "I've been teaching Dawn a few new tricks."

"So if you know Dawn is gonna win, why don't you go?" I asked him.

"Because I li-" He began, "Oh... I get it..."

"So you got your priorities set?" I asked him.

Paul nodded and smiled, standing up and walking to the door, "Yep, I'm gonna prepare for my battle."

...

He let out a quietly chuckle when he saw my shocked face, "I was kidding." he assured me. He turned around and walked back to his bed, sitting down on it. "So what about you? You stuttered when you mentioned May was your girlfriend, that's not like you."

I let out a sigh, "I don't know, it's just that I'm so ignorant when it comes to this stuff. It's all so new; I don't really know what to do sometimes."

"You'll get used to it... Maybe," Paul said.

I looked around, suddenly realizing something was missing. "Hey, where's Gengar?"

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"Alright Bayleaf! Use Sleep Powder!" I exclaimed. With a grunt, Bayleaf released a large orange cloud of Sleep Powder, which sparkled as it rose into the sky. "That was great Bayleaf!" I exclaimed, running up to him and giving him a hug. Suddenly, a large black dragon dropped from the sky, landing with a large crash, fast asleep.

"Oh my gosh!" I exclaimed. Bayleaf and I ran up to the black dragon, checking to make sure it was okay. Seeing that it up close I could tell it was a Charizard, but a different color than Ash's.

"Oh no! Charizard!" A girl with jet black hair ran up to us. She had tan skin and bright green eyes, and wore dark blue jeans, and a crimson sweater. She knelt down by the fire type, inspecting him closely, before sighing and returning him to his Pokéball.

"What happened?" I asked as she clipped the Charizard's Pokéball to her belt.

"Charizard and I were practicing for the Grand Festival, and he flew into big puff of orange cloud. He suddenly was knocked out and fell to the ground," the girl explained.

I gulped, scratching to back of my head, "Oh, heh, that was... Um... Us..." I said sighing, "Sorry about that."

Much to my relief, the girl smiled, "It's okay, you didn't mean to." She stuck out her hand, which I took and shook, "My name's Adrianna, what's yours?"

I pointed to myself and gestured to Bayleaf, "My names May, and this is Bayleaf." Bayleaf smiled and nodded. "I take it your here to compete Grand Festival?" I asked.

She nodded and showed me her five ribbons, which were clipped on the inside of her jacket. "They're beautiful," I said, no matter how many ribbons I won or saw, they always were a fascinating and beautiful piece of art to me.

"Thanks," Adrianna said, letting go of her jacket, causing it to fall back into place and hide the ribbons. Suddenly, a hand came down from the sky, grabbing Adrianna and lifting her into the air.

"Hey!" She exclaimed, struggling and wriggling around as she was lifted higher. I heard a familiar laugh and looked up into the sky. I saw the familiar Meowth balloon floating high in the sky.

"'Hey' is the question indeed!"

"We'll answer it as we feel the need!"

"'Hey' isn't a question!" I shouted, "It's an interjection!"

Jessie huffed and looked down at me, "Well, well, well, if it isn't little miss Smartypants! We're here for ribbons, and yours would be a great addition to my collection! Grab her too!"

"Copy dat!" Meowth said as he slammed down on a large button, a second hand appeared from the balloon and approached me.

"Run, May!" Adrianna shouted.

"Bayleaf!" I shouted, "Use Razor Leaf!" But before Bayleaf could react, the robotic hand swept over the ground the smacked him, sending him flying into a tree, and knocking him out.

"Bayleaf! No!" I shouted. I felt the hand grab me, and I was lifted into the air, along with Adrianna.

Team Rocker laugh evilly in union, "Hah! We got you this time! None of your twerpish friends are here to save you and I don't see that puny little Gengar around either."

"_On the contrary_!"

I looked down and saw a familiar face, a Gallade, and a purple ghost type. "Tim!" I shouted.

"I don't know who the heck you guys are," Tim shouted, "But you better put them both down! **Pronto**!"

Jessie, James, and Meowth all made goofy faces, "You and what army?"

Tim sighed, "Gengar, use Shadow Ball and Gallade use Psycho Cut!" Gengar charged up a Shadow as Gallade swung his arms around, shooting bright, crescent-shaped objects at the hands holding us. The attack cut throughout the robotic arms and freed us, sending Adrianna and I into a free fall.

"I got you! I got you!" Tim said as he and Gallade ran around trying to predict where we would land.

***WHAM!***

Adrianna landed on top of Tim while I landed on Gallade.

"Ouch..." Tim groaned.

"GeeeeeeenGAR!" Gengar shouted, firing the Shadow Ball at Team Rocket, with a blast, they flew higher into the air.

"TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" They shouted as they disappeared.

Adrianna got off of Tim, and helped him up. Tim began to rub his back. "Dang my back is going to be killing me tomorrow." he said.

"Gallaaaaaade," Gallade groaned agreement as he rubbed his back as well.

Adrianna had been checking her Pokéballs and ribbons when she spoke up, "Thanks for catching me; it probably would have hurt a lot more to land on the ground."

Tim simply groaned in response.

After a more formal greeting and exchanging names, I turned to Gengar, who hadn't said much since he sent Team Rocket flying.

"So what brought you out here?" I asked him, "Where you following me?"

"Gen, _Gengar_ Gen, GengarGengar," He said.

I sighed, smiling sadly at him, ruffling his hair. "I wish I could understand you," I told him. I turned to Tim, "So how did you find us out here?" I asked him.

Tim gestured to the Gengar, "I recognized the Gengar, and decided to follow him."

"Oh," I said. I looked at my Pokétech to check the time. "Hey, I still have plenty of time to train, why don't we all train together?"

Tim and Adrianna's face brightened, "Yeah that would be cool," Tim said.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

Pikachu, Lucario, and I were walking around the Grand Festival Plaza, looking for Gengar.

"Gengar! Where are you?" I hollered.

"ChukaPi!" Pikachu shouted.

"_Looking for someone_?"

I turned and saw a boy in a tuxedo leaning against the wall of a building. He had a tall top hat on his head, and was tossing a Pokéball in his hands, standing next to him was a Typhlosion.

"Perhaps I could be of assistance," the boy said, walking up to me, "My name is Webb Hahn, and this is Typhlosion." The large fire type roared.

I stuck my hand out, which he grabbed and shook, "Nice to meet you, my name is Ash, and this is Pikachu and Lucario."

"Pi Pikachu!"

"Rrmm,"

"We're looking for my Gengar," I told Webb, "Have you seen one around here?"

Webb shook his head, "No, but I would be happy to help you look around." Webb said, "I've been pretty bored and don't have much to do."

I smiled and nodded, "Sure, let's go this way." we began to walk down the road, calling Gengar's name and looking around.

"Do you hear that?" Webb asked.

I stopped and listened, "Hear what?" I asked him.

He squinted his eyes, "It sounds like... Screaming..."

I began to hear the faint scream, which grew louder and louder. I looked up and saw something fall into a bush. Webb and I exchanged glances and ran across the street and over to the bush.

"_Grrrrooooaaaaannnn..._"

We looked into the bush and gasped, "Team Rocket!" I shouted, jumping backwards, "You're alive!" As much as I hated those guys, a wave of relief swept over me.

"Of course we're alive, twerp!" James exclaimed, standing up, "We never die!"

"Tell me about it," I groaned, rolling my eyes.

"How the heck did you guys survive a fall like that?" Webb asked.

Jessie and James exclaimed glances, "Uh..." James said, "We haven't figured that out ourselves..."

Webb looked at me for an explanation, but I just shrugged. "So how did you guys get up there?" he asked.

"Ugh!" Jessie exclaimed stomping her foot, "That stupid little Gengar sent us blasting off again!"

Webb and I exchanged glances. "From where?" I asked.

"Dah forest over dere," Meowth gestured, before getting punched in the head by Jessie and James.

"Don't help them you fool! They're our worst enemies!" Jessie exclaimed. We dashed into the forest, hoping to find Gengar painlessly.

"I hope this forest isn't very big," Webb panted as we dashed through the forest.

"Pika?" Pikachu said as his ears perked up. I came to a stop.

"What's wrong Pikachu?" I asked.

***BOOM!***

We all turned in the direction the sound came from. Without a word, we broke into a run again and eventually found ourselves in an opening, where I saw May and some other girl battling.

"Hey Ash!" I turned and saw Tim waving to me; he was sitting next to Gengar in the grass.

"Looks like we found Gengar," Webb said as Tim got up and approached us. May and the other girl saw us as well and returned their Pokémon and walked up to us.

"Oh hey, Ash," May said, giving me a hug, "What brings you out here?"

I gestured to Gengar, "I was looking for Gengar," I told her. "So who is this?" I asked her, referring to the girl standing next her.

"Oh, this is Adrianna, she and Tim were training with me," May said. Adrianna smiled and waved.

"Oh, well this is Webb, he was helping me find Gengar," I said, ruffling my ghost type's fur, "Hey, I saw Team Rocket fall out of the sky." I told her.

"Oh yeah, them..." May grumbled.

"I showed them a lesson!" Tim exclaimed, "Heh, they didn't stand a chance!"

"So you sent them into the sky to fall to their deaths?" Webb asked. Tim's face went pale.

"W-wait... _What_?" Tim stuttered, "T-they're dead?"

"No," I said quickly, "They seem to survive those falls for some reason."

Tim let out a sigh of relief, Webb seemed to just shrug. "Doesn't seem to make sense," Webb said, "From the looks of how high they fell and the speed they were falling, they should have been flattened and splattered all over the-"

"Gosh I think I'm getting tired," Adrianna said quickly, seeming to want to change the subject. "I think I'm going head back to my hotel room." She paused for a minute, thinking about something before smiling. "We should meet for dinner, May."

May smiled, "That would be great!" She said, "I can introduce you to my other friends."

Webb leaned towards me, "Corny girl talk," he mumbled into my ear. I just shrugged.

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

I was sitting down at a table in the lobby of the hotel, rolling a Pokéball around on the table. _I wonder if this will make Mamiswine sick,_I thought. With that in mind, I stopped rolling the Pokéball around and stuffed it in my bag.

"_H-hey_..."

I looked up and smiled at the familiar face, "Hey Adam," I said, motioning for him to sit down with me. He smiled and scratched the back of his back, looking around before doing so.

"So are you ready for the contest?" I asked him.

He shrugged, "I think I am, but I'm feeling a little nervous." Adam tapped the table a few times, he did seem nervous.

"I'm feeling nervous too," I told him.

He chuckled quietly, "So how do you get rid of the feeling?" he asked. I thought for a minute.

"Well," I began, "Typically I think about my Mom, my friends, my rivals... _Paul_..."

Adam tilted is head a little bit, "What's so special about Paul? He's your friend too, right?"

I smiled and nodded, "Oh, of course," I told him, "But he's my-"

"What's up guys?" Harmonia sat down at the table with us before I could finish my sentence. "What are you talking about?"

Adam and I exchanged glances, "We were talking about our nervousness." I told her.

Harmonia shuddered a little, "Tell me about it, I'm so nervous right now."

Adam looked at her. "You don't seem to show it," He told her, she had indeed looked like she was fine, "How do you take your mind off of what you're nervous about?"

Harmonia thought for a second, tapping her chin before speaking. "Typically... I eat..."

Adam and I exchanged glances, "That's all?" I asked, "Does it work?"

Harmonia nodded, "Yeah, it works most of the time." A few seconds later we were in the cafeteria.

"So, what Pokémon are you guys going to use for the appeals?" I asked them.

Harmonia was the first to speak up, "I'm going to use my Milotic," she said cheerfully. My jaw dropped.

"You have a Milotic? That's so cool!" I told her, remembering Wallace and his Milotic, "I'm so jealous!" Harmonia smiled and waved it off, slightly embarrassed by my praise. I turned my attention to Adam, "So what about you?" I asked him.

" Uh... My Servine..." he said, stumbling on his words. "Yeah... Servine..."

I cocked my head, "What's a Servine?" I asked him. He smiled and dug through his pocket pulling out his Pokédex and showed me a picture.

"It's a rare Pokémon from the Unova region, it's really cool," he told me. Indeed, the picture of the crescent-shaped grass type made looked amazingly beautiful.

"That's a really pretty Pokémon," I told him.

Adam chuckled a little, "Just be careful when you say that, Servine is a male."

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

Ash and I walked down the road, with his Pokémon. We had said goodbye to our new friends and were headed back to the hotel.

"So are you nervous?" Ash asked me. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Yeah, I guess, this will be my fourth Grand Festival though, so it's not too bad," I told him, "I hope I actually win this year..."

He laid a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure you'll do awesome," He told me. With a smile, I hugged him, forcing us to both stop walking.

"Do you think I'll really win?" I asked him. I felt him return the hug.

"I'm positive," He told me.

"Aw! This is so cute!"

We let go of each other and looked around, we saw a teenage girl with a Dragonair walking up to us.

"Sorry for ruining to moment," she said, "I just couldn't help myself!" She put on a toothy grin. She had blonde hair and jade eyes. Her hair was done in two pony tails, both streaked red. She was wearing a black tank top, white shorts, black/red streaked gloves, and brown boots.

I was about to speak up, but she spoke first, "Allow me to introduce myself!" She said, loudly, energetically, and quickly. "My name is Jane Smith, the soon-to-be Top Coordinator! Would you like to buy a watch?"

Ash's expression was blank, but he blinked and snapped back to reality. "Hold on... What?" He asked. Jane sighed and dug through her backpack, pulling out a box and opening it up, reveiling the watches.

"They are 25% off only for the next _five_minutes!" Jane said, "So hurry! Hurry and buy! They make great gifts!"

"N-no thanks," Ash interrupted, "I don't need a watch... Do you, May?" I shook my head.

"Well, I guess that's your loss!" Jane exclaimed. "If you ever want one, just come to me! Next time you'll see me is up on stage receiving the Grand Festival Trophy!"

With that, she and her Dragonair rushed off.

"That was interesting," Ash said.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>**  
><strong>  
>I stood in the midst of a large crowd. Coordinators from all over Johto had come to participate in this exciting event.<p>

"Hello! And welcome to the opening ceremonies of the Johto Grand Festival!" I heard the MC shout. The crowd erupted into applause. Looking into the crowd, I could see Ash and Paul sitting in their seats with Pikachu, Gengar, and Lucario. Ash and his Pokémon excitedly clapped while Paul simply sat there, although he had a small smile on his face.

"We hope that you are all looking forward to the upcoming battles!" The MC continued.

I couldn't help but notice Webb and his Typhlosion, they had anticipation emitting from them.

_"All the coordinators here today have gotten five ribbons!"_

I saw Adrinna bouncing on her toes, she looked really excited.

_"So you can bet that you'll be seeing some incredible battles!"_

I noticed Adam, who was looking up at the sky, a big smile on his face.

_"Not to mention some beautiful Pokémon!"_

I looked at Tim, who was nearby. I could tell he and his Gallade were really excited about the battles.

_"Starting tomorrow, these coordinators will begin to battle..."_

I spotted Jane, the person who had been selling watches; she was focusing on the MC.

_"And whoever reaches the top will become the top coordinator!"_

Harmonia was behind me, when I looked at her, she gave me a thumbs up, which I returned.

_"The stakes are high! The rewards are great!"_

Dawn was next to me, she had a determined look on her face, but also appeared to be excited. She smiled at me before looking ahead at the MC again.

_"So let the Grand Festival... __**Begin**__!"_

* * *

><p><strong>I believe that was all the OCs given to me, if I missed yours, just say so.<strong>

**Yay, Christmas Break! More time to write! Although I probably work on an Advanceshipping Christmas oneshot as well well as a Gengar Christmas thing... And another Chapter of FTaL... Oh gosh... Too much...**

**Anyways, hope you guys continue to enjoy the story. I recently figured how to post polls on the site, so I figured I'd ask if you like me using OCs. Your guy's voice and vote will shape the next story I write after this, so be sure to vote! Just head over to my profile and the poll should appear.**

**Also, don't forget to review! I luv reviews... :D**

_**Tah-Tah**_** for now!**


	29. Chapter 29: Deal With Appeals

**Chapter 29: Deal with Appeals**

* * *

><p><strong>Hi, This is the next chapter, I don't have much else to say...<strong>

**I don't own Pokémon, it belongs to Nintendo and GameFreak...**

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

I thought that I was nervous yesterday. Waiting is way worse. I felt like I could throw up. I was sitting in the coordinator waiting room to do my appeal, nervously rocking back and forth in my seat. It didn't help my case that I was one of the last coordinators to go. Most of the people we had met the other day had already gone, I was currently watching Webb, the guy who had helped Ash find Gengar, and his Pokémon's appeal.

"Storm! Use Sand Attack!" Webb said over the TV. Storm, the psychic evolution of Eevee, Espeon, swiped his tail around several times, sending large billows of sand into the air.

"Great! Now you know what to do next!" Webb said, Espeon nodded and his eyes began to glow. Gigantic cloud of sand that covered the battle field began to glow. Suddenly, it shot into the air, the sand began to fly around the field, similar to Rayquaza.

"Whoa, that's awesome..." Dawn said. The large billow of sand flew into the ground, lifting even more sand. When the dust settled, there was a life sized version of an Espeon in the center of the field.

"Magnificent!" The MC shouted, "With all the sand he was able to use, Espeon showed his artistic side and made a sculpture of himself!"

I could hear the crowd roar with applause as Webb and his Espeon bowed, and walked off the stage.

"Oooooh," I groaned nervously, seeing the tough competition just made me more nervous than before. "I wish Ash were here..." I noticed Dawn glance at me before walking out of the room.

"On to our next appeal!" The MC shouted, "The talented coordinator, Jane Smith!" I smiled slightly as I watched the familiar watch saleswoman ride her Dragonair up onto the stage.

"Alright! Beauty, let's show then what we got!" She exclaimed as she threw a Pokéball into the air. A Gardevoir appeared on the stage, But it was a different color from any of the other Gardevoirs I had seen, and when it came out if it's Pokéball, it released a splash of yellow sparks, despite the fact the Pokéball she had been in didn't have a seal.

"Beauty, use Double Team and Teleport! Just like we practiced!" Jane shouted. Garevior nodded and multiplied, so there were Gardevoirs all over the stage. Suddenly they all disappeared and reappeared in different places. The process repeated several times, so there were Gardevoirs teleporting around everywhere.

"Now, use Magical Leaf!" Jane exclaimed. The Gardevoirs swung their arms and shot out leaves. Even though most of the Magical Leaves were fake, they were still just as beautiful, and there where hundreds of them flying everywhere.

"Using her multiples, Gardevoir brought the beauty of Magical Leaf up tenfold! Astounding!" The MC said.

I let out another groan, _I think the Butterfrees in my stomach are using Double Team_, I thought.

"Hey May."

I jumped at the voice, but my face immediately brightened when I saw Ash sit down next to me.

"Nervous?" he asked, I groaned and laid my head on his shoulder,

"You have no idea," I told him.

He wrapped an arm around me. "I'm sure you'll do awesome," he assured me. I simply sighed as a reply,

"Would May come out onto the appeal stage?" We heard over the speaker.

I stood up and looked glanced at Ash, "Here goes nothing." I told him.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

I watched May leave the coordinator room, disappearing behind a door. Looking up at the TV, I could see her step up onto the stage.

"You where right, Dawn," I said to the blunette as she sat down beside me. "May really is nervous."

Paul, my Pokémon, and I had gotten comfortable in our seats when Dawn came out of nowhere and told me May was extremely nervous. She said that May could use some support and that it would help if I came down to see her. As interesting as Jane's appeals were, I decided to get up and go see May.

"She could use a confidence boost," Dawn said.

I turned and looked at her. "I don't know what else I can do; I've told her she'll do fine a thousand times."

Dawn brushed off the dress she was wearing, "You can give her a better conference boost through actions rather than words."

I looked at her, "What do you have in mind?" I asked her.

Dawn shrugged and behind to mindlessly list off things, "Oh, I don't know... Give her a reassuring hug, a pat on the back, flashing a warm smile, kissing her..."

Dawn continued to blab and list off things as my focused turned onto the television screen, watching May's appeal. She had sent out Bayleaf and was giving out commands.

"Use Sweet Scent!" May exclaimed. Bayleaf nodded and released a pinkish powder that rose above him. "Now use your leaf like we practiced!"

Bayleaf nodded and quickly moving his head in a circular motion. The movement caused the leaf on his head to spin like a fan. He caused an odd wind pattern; the pink powder from above formed a spinning ring around him. He jumped into the air and flipped slamming his leaf into the ground and disrupting the pink powder ring. Like a ripple, it expanded and spread across the stadium, allowing everyone to smell the relaxing scent.

"Nice!" The MC exclaimed, "Bayleaf is not only using the ability of sight to show off his magnificence, but the sense to smell as well!"

May and Bayleaf bowed to the crowd, who erupted into applause.

"See," I began, "May's got nothing to worry about." I watched May return Bayleaf and walk off stage. She appeared in the coordinator room soon after.

"May! That was so cool!" I told her, standing up and walking over to her; she blushed and smiled sheepishly at my comment. I decided to go for Dawn's advice and hugged May. She quickly returned the embrace.

"I can't wait to see what you'll do for the battle rounds!" I told her.

May scratched the back of her head, "Come on, Ash. We haven't seen the score board yet, we don't even know if I made it."

I put both my hands on her shoulders, "You'll make it, I loved your performance, the crowd loved it, and the judges loved it. There's no way you won't make it."

May smiled and nodded. "You're right," She said, "I'll make it."

_Looks like Dawn's advice is working so far_, I thought to myself.

"Would Dawn come out to the stage," We all heard over the speaker.

Dawn quickly stood up and rushed towards the exit, "Well, wish me luck," She said. Dawn lifted up her hand, as she passed, I lifted my hand and we high-fived. Turning my attention to the screen, I saw Dawn rush up on stage and throw a Pokéball into the air, releasing Pachirisu.

"Alright! Pachirisu, use Swift in a circle!" Dawn exclaimed, Pachirisa nodded and leapt into the air, doing a 360 degree spin while releasing the Swift attack.

"Quickly use Discharge!" Dawn exclaimed. Pachirisu quickly charged up before releasing Discharge. May and I gasped as we saw what happened. The electricity from the Discharged stopped the Swift attack, leaving the stars from the attack suspended in midair. But the stars from Swift were conducting the electricity. So sparks where shooting from one star to another, making an electric net.

"How interesting!" The MC said, "The combination of Swift and Discharge has created and interesting combo attack making an electric net!"

"I wonder if Paul taught her that," I said aloud.

The stars suddenly exploded, releasing sparkles everywhere, and the electricity disappeared. Dawn and Pachirisu took a bow before leaving the stage. Soon after they disappeared off the television screen did they reappeared in the room.

"Wow Dawn!" May said, "That was crazy! Where did you learn that?"

"Oh, from Paul," she said casually. May and I exchanged glances. _Oh, of course_, I thought.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

Everyone had finished their appeals, and now we all had to wait to hear the judges decisions. I honestly don't know which is worse: waiting to do appeals or waiting to see how well I did. I was never fond if appeals for this very reason, with battles, I immediately knew if I won or not.

Dawn, Ash, Paul, and I sat in one of our hotel rooms with Ash Pokémon. We wouldn't be hearing the results of the appeals until later in the evening. Desperate to take my mind off the waiting, I looked around to find something that would distract me. The first thing I saw was the familiar purple ghost with red eyes and a large, toothy grin. I stood up and whispered something in Gengar's ear. His face lit up and he anxiously grabbed the sleeve of my shirt and pulled me out of the room.

"Where you two going?" Ash asked.

"Out!" I managed to shout before being tugged down the hallway. He pulled me out of the hotel and out down the road, and not surprisingly, to Le Fry Française.

I began having second thoughts about this, remembering what happened last time with Tim when we ate here. "Gengar, try to go a little easy on the fries-" but he was already gobbling away, "-this time..." I grumbled. I grabbed a plate and filled it with food. After getting Gengar under control, I got him a plate and piled it with fries as well.

"So you do the same thing as me? Great mind think alike I guess," I looked around and noticed Adrianna approaching me.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Adrianna sat down at the table with me and Gengar.

"You eat when you're nervous," Adrianna said.

I sighed, "Honestly, I only asked Gengar if he wanted to go out and find something fun to do, and he dragged me here..." Adrianna laughed and looked at Gengar, who was too busy eating to pay attention to our conversation.

"So do you think you made it?" Adrianna asked.

I tilted my head, "Made it to what?" I asked her.

Adrianna rolled her eyes, "The next round in the Grand Festival, _silly_!"

I mentally face-palmed for not thinking of that, I guess going out with Gengar had been working thus far. "I don't know, there were a lot of really great appeals," I told her, "Like that thing you did with Charizard, that was awesome."

Adrianna scratched the back of her head, "Aw, shucks..." she said.

I sighed and gazed at my food. "This is only the beginning of the Grand Festival, how on earth am I going to make it through?" I asked as I looked at my food, "If I keep using this strategy, I'll gain at least ten pounds..." We glanced at Gengar, he seemed to care nothing about his weight, devouring the fries in front of him.

"How does he eat so much?" Adrianna asked, "Why does he eat? He's a ghost, he doesn't need food."

I continued to watch Gengar eat, "I think it's more of a pleasure thing rather than a requirement."

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

After watching May leave with Gengar, I figured I'd do the same with Lucario. "Let's go for a walk, Lucario," I said. Lucario looked at Ash, who nodded his head, giving the Fighting/Steel type permission to go. Lucario stood up and walked out with me. Although I may not have showed it as much as May, I was also extremely nervous about my score, I would have talked to Paul about it, but he didn't seem like that the type to go to... At least... Not yet.

Lucario on the other hand was loyal, even if he was Ash's. Similar to how May had grown attached to Gengar, after Team Rocket tried to take over Blackthorn City, I felt a connection to Lucario. Suddenly, I found we had made our way into the park, where several Pokémon trainers were training.

"Hey, Dawn!" I turned and saw Tim and his Gallade walk up to me. "Are you here to train?"

I shook my head, "Nah, Lucario and I were taking a walk, would you like to join us?"

Tim exchanged glanced with Gallade, "Sure, we could use a break."

We began to walk down the path with our Pokémon, "So do you think you'll make it to the next round?" I asked him.

Tim shrugged, "I don't know, I hope so, it would stink if I didn't make it through the appeals."

I nodded with agreement, "But as long as you and your Pokémon try hard, it doesn't matter if you win or lose, right?" I asked cheerfully.

Tim looked at me for a minute, "Uh, I don't know. I never really understood how failing could be better than winning."

I was about to explain, but realized I didn't know how. "It's hard to put in words," I said.

Tim laughed and nodded, "Yeah, I guess so. Hey, wouldn't it be cool if we got to battle each other in the next round?"

My face brightened and I smiled "Yeah! That would be cool," I said, "let's keep our fingers crossed."

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

I had been laying down in my bed, trying to think of something to do. Paul had gone off to find Dawn. Suddenly I realized something. _I still need to tell Adam about Dawn_, I thought to myself.

"Come on, Pikachu!" I said quickly getting out of bed, "We have to find Adam!" I grabbed my hat and raced out of the room. We ran down the stairs and to the reception desk.

"Hello," I said politely, "Is there a boy staying here by the name Adam Mel- Uh... Melzillo... Err, Meltilanepathy... That's not it, Melchipradersoft... -"

"Adam Melendez?" The receptionist asked, looking at her computer screen.

"Yeah! That one," I said. "I was close," I said quietly as the receptionist looked at his information.

"He's in room 471," The she said, "Would you like me to call his room?" She picked up the phone.

"Nope!" I said, running back to the stairs, "I got this!"

We raced up the stairs again and found ourselves on the fourth floor. "Oh man, what was the number again?" I asked Pikachu, you shrugged.

We slowly walked down the stairs and returned to the desk. "Excuse me, what was the number of the room again?" I asked her.

The receptionist smirked and looked at her screen. "Uh, room 471," She said.

I raced back up the stairs, quietly mumbling "_471_" under my breath. After looking around on the fourth floor again, I found room 471, and knocked on the door.

"Adam, you in there? I need to tell you something," I shouted, knocking on the door again, "Come on Adam! I went through quite a bit of trouble finding this room!"

Of course, there was no reply. "Great," I grumbled, "Now what are we supposed to do?"

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

Tim and I had finished talking, and Lucario and I were walking by ourselves again. Suddenly, I saw a familiar boy run up to me.

"Hey, Adam," I said cheerfully.

Adam was panting from his run, "Hello... Dawn..." Adam said. "Hey, could we talk, like... alone?"

"Eh?" I asked, "Sure, I guess..."

Adam grabbed my hand and pulled me into the forest, out of Lucario's hearing range. "Listen," Adam said, "W-when I... Um..." Adam sighed in frustration, "Geez, why does this have to be so hard?" he groaned. I simply stood there, patently waiting for him to get his message across.

"Okay, look," He said, pulling himself together, "When I first met you, you were this happy, cheerful girl that had treated me like no one else ever had." Adam scratched the back of his head, "People tend to judge me because I'm clumsy and crazy, but you... You wanted to be my friend."

I tilted my head, "Adam, I don't see where you're going with this."

Adam scratched the back of his head, "It's just... You're really pretty, and your kind, and... Well, I like you..."

My eyes widened, _he liked me_? _How did that even make sense_? _Did he not know about Paul_? _Oh __**crap**__, he doesn't know about Paul_.

"Adam, listen that's sweet of you but-" I began, but he leaned forward and kissed me. _Oh gosh, oh no, oh no, oh no!_

"What the-?"

We turned and saw Paul, standing with his mouth gaping.

"Oh, hey, Paul," Adam said casually, oblivious of what was about to come.

"Paul," I began, "I swear it's not what you think!"

"Well then what is it?" Paul asked angrily.

My lip trembled, trying to think of the right thing to say, "I-I-I-I-" I could only stutter.

"Get out of here," Paul growled, "Me and Adam are going to have a little talk." Adam, who still seemed confused, was now looking a bit frightened.

"Paul, don't hurt him," I said.

"**GO AWAY**!" Paul exclaimed. I backed up before spinning around and running in the other direction.

* * *

><p><strong>Paul's POV<strong>

"Oh man... What's going on?" Adam asked, fear laced in his voice. It was rare that I lost my temper, this was one of those rare times.

"You think... You can just go around... And take any girl you like," I growled, approaching Adam menacingly.

"D-dude, chill, I-I didn't kno-" Adam tried to say.

"Well guess what?" I interrupted him, "The world doesn't work like that!"

I grabbed his shoulders and pinned him to a tree. "Don't hurt me, man! I didn't know! I didn't know!" Adam said frantically, raising his hands in case I tried to hit him.

"Didn't... Know... What?" I asked him, staring at him intensely. I slowly raised the fist, preparing to hit him,

"About you... And Dawn... Being together! Now please don't hurt me!" He said.

Suddenly realizing what I was doing, I looked at my fist and backed away. I moaned and held onto my head. Adam, was panting heavily, and slide down the tree, grateful he didn't receive a beating.

"I don't get it!" I exclaimed loudly, falling to my knees.

Adam, although careful to stay a safe distance away, spoke up, "Don't get what?" he asked.

"H-how?" I asked, "How could you not see we were together?"

Adam took a deep breath, trying to calm down while keeping a close eye on me. "Y-you don't show it," he said.

I looked up at him, "What?" I asked.

"Y-you and Dawn, you act like you don't know her, I couldn't tell you were together..." Adam explained, "In fact, it still surprises me... I honestly had no idea. I have seen no interaction between you two"

I looked at Adam. "I-I don't show it?" I asked. "I love her... How am I supposed to show that?"

Adam thought for a minute, "Well... You could show more affection..."

I sadly looked out of the woods. _Oh Dawn_... I thought to myself, _is that why you've been so quiet to me lately?  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

Lucario and I watched the woods. I couldn't see anything that was going on, and I could barely hear anything. I was about to go back in to make sure Paul didn't kill Adam, but stopped short when I saw him step out of the forest.

"P-Paul...?" I asked, slowly walking up to him, he was gazing at the ground.

"Troublesome..." Paul said quietly, not looking up.

"I'm really sorry, Paul," I said, figuring it was no use to explain, "Please forgive me."

Suddenly, Paul leaned over and kissed me. My eyes went wide_. He kissed me_?_ It's always me kissing him_! I thought to myself.

Paul smiled sadly, "I think it's about time I started giving you the attention you deserve." My jaw dropped, I quickly hugged him tightly.

"Paul..." I began.

"You have Adam to thank," He said, "I guess you could say he _'opened my eyes'_." Paul said, he turned around and saw Adam quietly walking away.

"Adam!" I shouted, the boy froze in his tracks and turned to look at me. I broke into a run and dashed towards him.

"Listen, Dawn, I'm really sorry, I honestly didn't know about you and-" He tried to say, but was cut short as I almost knocked him over with a hug.

"Thank you," I whispered into his ear.

Adam looked a little confused, raising a brow. "Uh, n-no problem..." he said, patting my back as I hugged him, "What exactly did I do again?"

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

After some effort, Adrianna and I managed to get Gengar out of the restaurant. The hard part about it was the fact that Gengar is a ghost, who could slip through our bodies. Ironically the only thing that could get him out of there was what was keeping him in. We had to lure him out with French Fries.

"This little guy is quiet the glutton," Adrianna said, ruffling Gengar's hair.

"Yeah," I said, "He can be quiet the hand full."

Adrianna looked up at the sky, "It's starting to get late," she said, "I should head back to my hotel, and prepare to see the results of the appeals. I'll see you later." And with that, she ran off.

Gengar and I walked down the road towards our hotel as well. Suddenly, we heard a shout, and before I knew it, I was being used as a hiding place. Webb, came running around the corner, he spotted me and quickly hid behind me. "You gotta help me!" He said, "That girl is crazy!"

"What girl?" I asked, on cue, Jane, the watch saleswomen stomped around the corner.

"Oh man," Webb said, "Save me April!"

I looked at him oddly, "My name's _**May**_." I told him.

"Oh," Webb said, "I knew it was a month of the year." He quickly rose his guard up as Jane stomped over to him.

"Can I help you?" I asked politely.

"Step aside, sister," Jane growled, causing Webb to cower more. "I'm going to take that 'fancy' tie of his and strangle him with it."

I looked at her, rather quizzed, "What did he do to make you so angry?" I asked her.

Jane stomped her foot, "Gah! He claimed my watched where '_unstylish_' and '_outdated_'."

"A-and I **sincerely **regret saying that," Webb said, "I-I don't know what I was thinking..."

Jane rolled her eyes, "Oh! How is an apology going to make things better?"

I sighed, "Listen," I began, "What can Webb do to make you feel better."

A sly grin appeared on Jane's face.

"Oh dear Arceus…" Webb groaned.

"He has to buy four watches," Jane said, "And visibly wear them all during the rest of the Grand Festival."

"Oh no…" Webb said.

"Webb," I said, turning to face him, "It's either your head or your style, which is more  
>valuable?"<p>

Webb sighed and pulled out his wallet, "Okay, fine." He said. He pulled out several bills and handed them to Jane, who smiled brightly.

"Thank you for your business, I can't wait to see you in the Grand Festival," She said cheerfully, her mood suddenly changing. Webb grumbled something un-understandable as he put the watches on, Jane happily skipped off. He finished putting on the four watches, I had to admit, he looked a little dorky with them all on the way they were. "Thanks for saving my neck back there," He said, sticking out his hand.

I smiled and shook it, "Know come on, I think that's a little overkill, she wouldn't have hurt you _too _badly." I assured him.

...

"You didn't see her eyes," He said, a shiver running down his body, "_Her eyes_..."

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

Pikachu and I were walking down the road in hopes to bump into Adam. Pikachu's ears perked up and he pointed to the right.

"Pikachu pika!" Pikachu exclaimed. I turned and saw Adam sitting on a bench at the side if the road, staring at the ground.

"Adam!" I exclaimed, running up to him, "Listen, I need to tell you something, it's about-"

"Save it," Adam grumbled, "I don't feel like talking about anything." it was obvious that something was wrong.

_"What's wrong?"_

We turned and saw Harmonia walking up to us. Adam made a confused face, "Since when have you cared?" He said, "You enjoy my suffering."

Harmonia scowled, "That's **not** true!" she said, "I care! I'm not _heartless_."

"Adam, what's wrong?" I asked him, "You can tell us."

Adam sighed and sat back in his seat. "I messed up and made a fool of myself," He said, "Why didn't you tell me Dawn was already in a relationship?"

My shoulder slumped, _I was too late_. "I came here to tell you," I told him, "I tried to tell you, but I didn't get the chance."

Adam looked back at the ground, "And then Paul almost broke my nose," he said, "That guy can have quite the temper..."

Harmonia and I exchanged glances, she winked at me and spoke up. "I'm really sorry that happened to you, Adam," Harmonia said, "But life moves on, you have to look to the future! Think about the Grand Festival, and how I'm going to crush you."

Adam stood up, "You will **not**! **I'll **be winning the Grand Festival!"

Ash and Pikachu grinned, he was back to normal.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

This was it, the moment of truth. All the coordinators had come back to the battle fields to see who made it. "If you see your face and name on the screen, then you've made it. There's no order, so make sure to look closely." The MC said. Dawn and I exchanged glances. Without thinking, I grabbed Ash's hand, causing him to glance at me.

"Don't worry," he said assuring, "You'll make it." He squeezed my hand as he spoke. I took a deep breath and smiled. _No need to worry_, I thought.

The screen lit up and faces began to appear on the screen. Adrinna's, Tim's, Webb's, Hamonia's, Jane's, and Adam's faces and names all appeared fairly early. Looking around, they all seem happy and relieved by the fact that they had made it.

"Look!" Paul said, snapping my attention back to the screen. Dawn's face had appeared on the screen. Dawn squealed and hugged Paul in happiness.

It was down to the final row, and my name had yet to appear. Ash squeezed my hand again, keeping a close eye on the screen. It suddenly stopped; the last place on the screen was blank.

"And now, the single best appeal we saw today..." The MC began, a drum roll could be heard in the background. I clamped my eyes shut and squeezed Ash and as tight as I could, causing him to grunt in pain.

"May… and her Bayleaf!" The MC shouted. The crowd erupted into applause as my face appeared in the last spot on the screen.

"You did it, May!" Dawn exclaimed, Paul smiled and nodded to me.

I turned to Ash, "What'd I tell you?" He asked. I smiled and kissed him, but it was stopped abruptly, I felt something ram into my side and knock me over.

"Gengar!" I looked up and saw a grinning Gengar dancing on top of me. I reach over and grabbed him hugging him tightly.

"Now, it's time to announce the battles for the next round!" The MC shouted. Still holding onto Gengar, I stood up and looked at the screen.

The faces scrambled around the screen and came to a stop. "Looks like you're up against Adrianna," Ash said. I looked around and saw that I was in fact going to battle Adrianna.

"Hey, May! Looks like we're up against each other tomorrow!" I spun around and saw Adrianna.

"Yeah, I can't wait!" I said happily, "It's going to be so much fun!"

Adrianna stuck her hand out, "Yep, It will be. I'll be seeing you on the battle field tomorrow." With a grin, I shook her hand.

_"Looks like you and I will be battling it out, Dawn."_

I looked over and saw Tim talking with Dawn; she must have been paired with him.

"Yeah, looks that way, kind of a coincidence, right?" Dawn asked.

* * *

><p><strong>So I met a good friend while I was writing this chapter. Everyone, let me introduce you to Writer S. Block. He decided to hang out with me for a while, maybe one of you would like to take him for a while.<strong>

**Anyways, battle ranking wise, it's completely random. Here's what I did, I wrote all the OC's names on cards, and scrambled them up. So I had no control over the position they get in the Grand Festival, I'm just going with that; I promise there was no choosing favorites or anything.**

**So I had a few requests to write a Oneshot, and it's almost Christmas, so I posted a Christmas Advanceshipping Oneshot **_Wish You Well_**. I enjoyed writing it, so be sure to go check it out on my page.**

**Also on my page is the poll, thank you everyone who has voted about the OCs thus far, if you haven't already, head over to my homepage and vote on the poll at the top of the page. I'm trying to decide whether or not to use OCs in my next big fiction. So be sure to vote!**

**Lastly, please leave a review. I love your guy's input, constructive or praise. I'm starting to look for ways to make my writing better, so be sure to let me know where I can improve.**

**Until next time…**

_**Merry Christmas!**_**  
>The Shiny Gengar<strong>


	30. Chapter 30: The Contest Battles

**Chapter 30: The Contest Battles**

* * *

><p><strong>Well, I kinda didn't update this when you guys expected. My reason for posting this so late is that I got Skyward Sword for Christmas... And it's been eating away my life. (Incredibly awesome game though, it you haven't played it, you should.)<strong>

**So for those who have good memories and actually have read my author's notes, you guys know that, well... I hate writing contest battles... So yeah... This chapter will be consisting of four contest battles, and I'm not gonna make them super long battles.**

**For people who lose in the contest early on, don't feel bad, I used cards to determine the rankings, in the contest. There was no picking favorites or anything.**

**Lol, the first part is brief and pointless, I kinda added it to be a quick scene like they do in The Office before the main theme plays.**

**I don't own Pokémon.**

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

Gengar and I were getting some training time in before May's battle.

"Alright, Gengar, let's try Ominous Wind one more time," I said. Gengar nodded and took a deep breath, before attempting to blast out the ghost type attack. But it fell short and didn't go out very far.

"Aww," I said, "Don't worry, we'll get it eventually."

"Hey, Ash."

I turned and was surprised to see a familiar boy walking up to me. "How the heck did you find us way out here, Tim?" I asked him.

Tim shrugged, "I got lucky, but that's not the point." He said, "Listen, I've felt bad about shouting at your Gengar for a while now, and I just feel like I should make it up to him."

Gengar and I exchanged glances, "Oh? How?" I asked him.

Tim smiled brightly and pulled out a bag. "Well, I noticed his love for French Fries, so I figure I'd get him some."

I laughed and patted his shoulder, "You don't need to worry about it. It wasn't that big of a de-"

But before I could finish my sentence, Gengar swiped the bag from Tim's hands and ripped it open. A huge smile appeared on his face before he began to devour the fries inside.

I sighed, "Never mind..."

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"Good Morning, Everyone! And welcome to the first round of the Grand Festival!" The MC exclaimed. The crowd erupted into applause, showing their enthusiasm for the upcoming battles. "Here on the green field, we will see May from Petalburg City against Adrianna, the coordinator from Cherrygrove City!"

My and Dawn's battle were both taking place at the same time, so Ash and his Pokémon decided to watch my battle while Paul decided to watch Dawn's, which wasn't too surprising.

"Contestants, send out you're Pokémon, and begin!" the MC shouted.

"Absol! Show them what you got!" Adrianna said, throwing her Pokéball into the air. The ball clicked open and released the dark type, but this Absol was different from any Absol I had seem, its fur had a red tint instead of black.

"And Adrianna goes with her shiny Absol!" The MC announced, "Who will May go with?"

I tossed a Pokéball into the air. "Blaziken! Take the stage!"

Adrianna smirked, "Don't get the idea you can take me down with a type advantage!"

I smiled, "Oh, of course."

And with that, the contest battle began. "Absol! Perish Song!" Adrianna exclaimed

Absol began to sing an eerie and creepy song. I raised a brow, "What was that?" I asked.

"What an eerie way to spin things off!" The MC exclaimed, "Using Perish Song, both Pokémon will be knocked out in a few moments, both contestants better begin racking up points!"

"Oh no!" I exclaimed.

"Razor Wind!" Adrianna exclaimed. Absol jumped into the air and swung his head several times, sending out the sharp looking attack through the air. The attack hit Blaziken in the legs, knocking her over on her face.

"And right off the bat, Adrianna takes a chunk out of May's points!" The MC announced.

"I won't go down that easy!" I exclaimed, "Blaze Kick!" Blaziken did a roll and jumped to her feet. She jumped and set her foot on fire before proceeding to kicked Absol in the stomach, sending him flying into the sky.

"Now Sky Uppercut!" I exclaimed. Blaziken crouched down and sprang into the air, her fingers began to glow and she slashed at Absol.

"Future Sight, and then Night Slash!" Adrianna exclaimed. As Absol fell back to earth, his eyes flashed, he then swung his head and hit Blaziken with Night Slash.

"Blaze!" Blaziken exclaimed as she too fell to the ground.

"Don't give up!" I exclaimed, "Overheat!"

Blaziken gracefully landed on her feet before opening her mouth and firing a power Overheat at Absol, consuming the dark type in the bright pillar of flames.

"Absol!" Adrianna exclaimed, "Get out of there! Quick!"

Suddenly, a strange aura surrounded Blaziken and seemed to damage her, stopping the Overheat short.

"Looks like the Future Sight took affect at the right time for Absol!" The MC explained.

"Razor Wind!"

"Detect!"

Absol sent out the attack, which Blaziken detected, and thus avoided. "Great! Now use Double Kick!"

Blaziken jumped into the air, preparing for the attack. Absol was unable to dodge and was repeatedly kicked by Blaziken, sending him flying across the field.

Slowly but surely, Absol slowly got to his feet, shaking a little. Blaziken let out a powerful roar, before suddenly stumbling and falling to the ground, knocked out.

Watching him fall over like that almost gave me a heart attack, but I quickly recovered when I saw that Absol had also fallen over, knocked out.

"Looks like Perish Song finally took effect, taking out both Pokémon at the same time," The MC observed, "Let's look at the score board to see who won!"

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

"Oh man!" Harmonia said, pointing at the score board, "It's going to be close!"

My Pokémon and I had been watching the contest battle when Harmonia came up to us.

"Don't you have a battle too?" I asked her.

She snorted and waved her hand. "Been there, done that," was all she said.

"Aaaaaand did you win?" I asked.

Harmonia's jaw dropped, "You dare doubt my abilities! You have some nerves!" She said, turning away from me with her hands on her hips.

...

"So _did_you...?" I asked again.

Harmonia sweat dropped and sighed. "Yes, if course I won, what did I just say?"

I scratched my head, "Um, well... You never gave me a direct answer, so I thought maybe-"

Harmonia got in my face and poked me. "Listen close, Ashums," She said, "Harmonia. Always. Wins."

I backed away slightly. "T-that's the spirit..." I mumbled.

"I know, right?" Harmonia asked, her mood suddenly changing.

My Pokémon and I exchanged glances, "Yeah..." I said.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"Well that was a fast match," The MC said, "With Perish Song, the contestant where put under pressure to do as much damage as possible before the move took effect."

I glanced at the score board, the two scores were so close, I couldn't tell the difference... As usual.

"And it looks like our winner is..."

...

"... May, from Petalburg City!"

The crowd erupted into applause. Adrianna sighed and smiled sadly, returning Absol to his Pokéball. I returned Blaziken before approaching her.

"Great battle," I said, "It might have ended differently if not for my type advantage."

Adrianna's smile widened and she grabbed my hand, shaking it. "Just be sure to make it to the end, Deal?" she asked.

I nodded, "Deal."

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

After watching May's victory, we all dashed out if the stands and into the coordinator room. "May! That was great!" I told her excitedly. I reached out and pulled her close, hugging her tightly. "Great job out there."

May smiled and looked up at the scoreboards, "Yeah, now we just have to wait for Dawn," she said. I looked up at the scoreboard as well. Most of the contest round battles had ended; Dawn's was one of the few that was left uncertain.

"I wouldn't have said this a few weeks ago... But... I hope she makes it," May said.

I chuckled, "I'm glad that whole conflict is over."

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

"On the blue field, we have a battle between the coordinator Dawn from Twinleaf Town in Sinnoh, and Tim from Slateport City in Hoenn!" the MC announced. "Will both contestants send out their Pokémon?"

Tim and I nodded to each other before each grabbing a Pokéball.

"Gallade! Deal the damage!" Tim exclaimed, pointing towards the field. Gallade, who has been standing next to him, nodded and jumped into the air, flipping and gracefully landing on one foot.

"Gallade, eh?" I asked, "Alright, Quilava! Spotlight!" The Pokéball snapped open and my fire type came out, his back bursting into flames as he studied Gallade.

"Begin!" The MC shouted.

"Alright! Gallade use Bullet Punch!" Tim exclaimed. In the blink of an eye, Gallade shot forward and began to rapidly pulverize Quilava with rapid punches.

"Get out of there with Flame Wheel!" I said quickly. Quilava began to spin around and surrounded himself with fire, forcing Gallade to retreat.

"Looks like the best defense is a good offense in Dawn's case," The MC said. Quilava charged forward towards Gallade. Without needing to listen to a command, Gallade spun out of the way of the Flame Wheel, and jumped into the air.

Quilava stopped the attack and looked around the field, unsure of what happened to Gallade. "Psycho Cut!" Tim exclaimed.

"Look out!" I warned, but was too late. Gallade fell from the sky and nailed Quilava, slamming him into the ground.

"Flame Thrower!"

"Teleport and Close Combat!"

Quilava quickly got to his feet and blasted hot flames at Gallade, who simply disappeared and reappeared behind him. He then proceeded to throw rapid kicks and punches at Quilava until he was thrown across the stage by the knock back.

"Quilava! Are you okay?" I asked, not wanting to force him to continue, even if it meant losing the Grand Festival.

"Qui!" Quilava exclaimed before slowly rising his feet. We looked over at Tim's Gallade, who stood ready for whatever came next.

_It's so fast_, I thought, _I can't even use Eruption now, Quilava's health is too low... What do I do?_

I snapped my fingers. _What would Paul do_? I asked myself.

"Smoke Screen!" I exclaimed. Quilava nodded and release and huge cloud of black dust, hiding him from Gallade.

I smirked, "Now It's my turn," I said, "Quilava, Quick attack and Flame Thrower combo, then retreat back into the smoke screen!" In a blast of fire, Quilaza shot out of the smoke screen like a bullet in flames and rammed into Gallade before making a U-Turn and retreating into the safety of the Smoke Screen cloud.

"Gallade," Tim began, "Beat it at its own game and hide in the Smoke Screen yourself!"

Gallade nodded and leapt into the dark cloud, concealing itself as well. "Oh no you don't!" I exclaimed, "Lava Plume!"

In a blast of fire, Gallade was sent flying out of the smoke screen, landing on the ground hard. It got back to its feet before quickly falling to a knee and bursting into flames.

"It looks like Gallade has been burned!" The MC explained.

"Stop, drop, and roll!" Tim said, "Put out that fire!"

Gallade fell to the ground and began to rapidly roll around.

"Quick Attack!" I ordered Quilava, who shot out of his Smoke Screen and rammed into Gallade. "Close range Flame Thrower!"

Quilava got close to the helpless Gallade and began attack with Flame Thrower.

"GAL**LAAAAAAAAAAADE**!" Gallade yelled in pain as it was hit by the hot attack.

"Stop!"

The field went silent as Quilava stopped the attack, leaving Gallade be. Tim ran onto the field and up to Gallade, who weakly laid on the ground, clovers in black, a few parts of his body still on fire. With haste, Tim quickly patted the remaining fires that where hurting Gallade out. "I'm forfeiting..." he said, "I can't let Gallade get hurt anymore..."

...

With that, he helped support Gallade and got the injured Pokémon to his feet. He carefully carried the Psychic/Fighting type off the field.

The crowd burst to applause, admiring Tim's love towards his Pokémon.

"With Tim forfeiting, Dawn wins this-" The MC began, but I ignored her and ran off stage, dashing down the hallway I had seen Tim disappear in.

Figuring he would be at the Pokémon Center to heal Gallade, I did a quick look around before locating the healing center, and thus found Tim. He was sitting on a bench, watching the large double doors Gallade had gone in with Nurse Joy.

"Hey," I said, rubbing my arm. Tim looked up at me for a moment before turning back to the door.

"S'up?" He asked.

I sighed and sat down next to him. "Listen, I'm really sorry about that battle, I didn't realized how badly hurt Gallade was-"

"It's fine," Tim interrupted with a smile. "I just hope Gallade is okay..."

"Yeah..." I said.

…

Tim looked down at the ground for minute, scratching the back of his neck. "I understand what you where saying before," He said.

I looked at him, not remembering what he was talking about, "What?" I asked.

Tim chuckled lightly, "You know... About winning and losing... And how it doesn't matter..."

I snapped my finger and smiled. "Oh yeah, that," I said.

Tim smiled and looked over his shoulder, "Looks like your friends are coming," he said. I looked over and saw that they were indeed coming this way.

Ash, his Pokémon, May, Adrianna, and Harmonia were all walking towards us.

"Hey, Dawn," Ash said, "congratulations on your win!"

I frowned and looked at Tim. "It doesn't feel like a victory," I grumbled.

Tim smiled and patted my back. "Don't feel bad, Dawn," he said, "It was my decision, you won."

I sighed and stood up, wordlessly walking away. It was strange; a sudden wave of intense guilt had washed over me. I stepped outside and took a deep breath, removing the hair from my face as the wind caused it to wave about.

"Hey..."

I turned around and saw Paul standing a few feet away. He looked me in my eyes, which watered slightly. "You feeling bad?"

I sighed and put on a sad smile. I walked up to Paul and embraced him. "It doesn't feel right..." I said, "And now… I'm going to feel guilty about it..."

Paul embraced me back, "You could have a rematch with him, but it wouldn't be official," he suggested.

My head perked up. "That's a great idea!" I exclaimed. Wiping my eyes, I happily kissed Paul before dragging him back into the building.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

"So will Gallade be okay?" I asked Tim.

Tim shrugged, "I don't know," He said, "I hope so."

Harmonia smiled, "Well if he reflex your energy and temper, I'm sure he'll be fine."

Tim rolled his eyes, "Oh geez, thanks..." he grumbled sarcastically. I glanced at May, who was struggling not to laugh.

"Gen Gengar," Gengar assured Tim, happily patting his back.

"I just wish that they would bring him back out soon," Tim said, looking at the door. Gengar glanced at the door before flying towards it, and floating through it.

"Gengar, wait!" I exclaimed. We heard a loud shriek, and a few seconds later. Gengar was rolling out Gallade, who was lying on a rolling bed.

May couldn't hold back anymore, she, Adrianna, and Harmonia all burst into a fit of laughter. Tim had a surprised look o his face; he hadn't expecting Gengar to take him so literally.

"Gengar!" I scolded, "Don't do that! Gallade hasn't recovered yet!"

A Nurse Joy stormed into the room. She looked extremely pail and her normally perfectly kept hair was now sticking out like crazy, it appeared as if she had just gotten the scare of her life.

She shot a glare at a confused Gengar before grabbing the rolling bed Gallade was on and rolling him back behind the doors.

I sighed and patted Gengar's head. "What am I going to do with you?" I asked him.

May, Adrianna, and Harmonia had gotten control of their laughter, and where trying to catch their breaths.

"Anyways..." May panted, "I'm really sorry you lost, Tim. It would have been fun to battle."

"Yeah, I wanted you to win that round," Adrianna said.

We heard a cough. "I'm standing right here," Dawn said to Adrianna was she walking back over to us with Paul. "Tim, I want a rematch sometime."

Tim's face lit up. "Okay," he said, "Let's do it right now!"

"Would the coordinators who are part of round two make their way to their assigned battle field?" we heard over the speaker phone.

"Or we could do it later..." Tim grumbled, annoyed by the inconvenience.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

We all quickly made our way down the halls, looking for our assigned fields.

"I was assigned to the yellow field," Harmonia said, "Oh, and there it is!" She said, happily skipping towards the entrance.

"Good luck!" Ash called out to her as she disappeared

Watching Harmonia disappear reminded me of someone. "Hey, did anyone see if Adam made it to this round."

Everyone seemed to fall silent at the mention of Adam's name.

"Who's Adam?" Adrianna asked.

Nobody seemed to answer at first.

_Something's wrong_, I thought.

"He's a kid we met on the way up to Mount Silver," Ash explained, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, there's the purple field," Dawn said, pointing to the entrance with a purple square over it. "Wish me luck," Dawn said, kissing Paul before rushing off.

Now knowing where Dawn's battle was, Paul and Tim walked off to find seats to watch the show on the purple field.

I leaned over to Gengar. "Could you keep Adrianna busy for a second?" I asked into his ear. Gengar saluted and floated over to Adrianna, stopping in front of her. He began making stupid and goofy faces, stretching his mouth, rolling his eyes, and flapping his tongue around.

I smiled as Adrianna giggled and watched Gengar goof off. I grabbed Ash by his collar and pulled him around the corner. "So what's up with Adam?" I asked him.

Ash sighed and gazed at the ground. "Well, you know how you told me to warn him about Dawn before it was too late?" He asked.

Even though I could tell where this was going, I decided to reply. "Yeah," I told him.

"Uh... Well... I didn't..." Ash said quietly, "And Paul got so angry, he almost chopped Adam's head off."

The final sentence got me concerned. "Is he okay? Did Paul hurt him?" I asked.

Ash shook his head; I let out a sigh of relief. "And he kind of just disappeared; I haven't seen him at all." Ash told me.

"Oh..." I said, "I wonder if he's still participating in the Grand Festival..."

Ash raised a brow. "Speaking of which," he began, "Do to know who you're supposed to be battling?"

Panic suddenly swept over me. "Oh no!" I exclaimed, "I need to figure out where I'm battling!"

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

May spun around and dashed off, frantic to find where she was supposed to be.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu said, tugging on my pant leg.

"Yeah," I agreed, "You're right, we should find the battle field." I walked around the corner and saw Adrianna was rolling on the ground as she laughed her head off. Gengar was floating over her making goofy faces.

"Hey, we're gonna go watch May's battle," I said, "Would you like to join us?"

Adrianna clutched her stomach as she tried to gain control of herself. "Y-yeah," She said, wiping a tear from her eye.

I smiled and ruffled Gengar's fur. With that, we all went off to find May's battle.

* * *

><p><strong>Paul's POV<strong>

I had found a spot in the bleachers to watch the battle. Oddly, Tim followed me and sat down beside me. "So do you think Dawn will win?" he asked.

I looked at him as if he was crazy. "Of course she will," I told him, "I taught her a few tricks that'll help her wipe through the competition easily."

Tim tilted his head. "Really? Was there anything of yours she used in our battle?"

I nodded. "I taught Quilava to use Lava Plume," I told him.

"Hello and welcome to the highly anticipated second battle round of the Grand Festival!" The MC shouted, the crowd roared with excitement. "Here on the purple field, we have the talented trainer, Dawn from Twinleaf Town, fighting against Jane from Newbark Town!"

Dawn and another girl stepped out onto the field. Jane was followed by a Dragonair, who slithered close behind.

"Will both trainers send out their Pokémon?" The MC requested. Dawn threw her Pokéball into the air as Jane patted Dragonair on the head, pointing towards the field. With a nod, Dragonair leapt onto the field, letting out an intimidating roar.

"Oh man," Tim said, "Dawn's up for a tough battle..."

Dawn's Pokéball snapped open and her Togikiss came out. "Begin!" The MC exclaimed.

"Togikiss, fly high and use Aura Sphere!" Dawn exclaimed. Togikiss shot into the sky and began circling over the battle field. She charged up an Aura Sphere before quickly chucking it towards Dragonair.

"Dodge and use Slam!" Jane said.

"But Aura Sphere can't be dodged!" Tim exclaimed.

"And how does she plan on hitting Togikiss with a move like Slam when she's flying so high out of reach?" I asked.

My question was quickly answered. Dragonair slither across the ground at top speed, somehow avoiding the Aura Sphere. She then jumped into the air and flipped, slamming her tail into the ground. The force of hitting the ground caused Dragonair to rocket into the sky, ramming into Togikiss.

"Dang..." Tim said, "This chick is good."

"Air Slash!" Dawn said. Togikiss recovered from the surprise attack and sent the flying type attack towards Dragonair, who was nailed by it.

Dragonair hit the ground and sent up a dust cloud, concealing it.

"And Dawn strikes back after a surprisingly effective attack!" The MC said.

"Dragon Dance!" Jane exclaimed. A few flashing lights appeared amongst the dust, before the cloud concealing Dragonair dispersed and revealed the dragon type, who was elegantly dancing around.

"Aura Sphere!" Dawn exclaimed. Togikiss shot another blue orb at Dragonair, knocking her over.

"Dawn landed another hit!" Tim cheered.

I sighed. "But it'll be even more difficult from here on out," I said, "With the Dragon Dance boost; Dragonair will become even tougher and faster than before..."

Dragonia indeed began to slither around much more quickly; Togikiss had a hard time keeping up with her. The Dragonair went in several fast circles, causing Togikiss to spin around a couple of times before getting dizzy.

"Oh boy..." Tim groaned.

"Dragon Rush!" Jane exclaimed. Dragonair charged forward, surrounding herself in a blue orb before slamming into the helpless Togikiss.

"And Dawn's points take a dive!" the MC shouted.

"Dawn's in trouble," Tim said, "She better step it up if she wants to win."

"Come on Dawn..." I whispered under my breath, "You got this... _You got this_!"

"Togikiss! Fly up high!" Dawn shouted.

"What?" Tim exclaimed, "She's just going to be hit by Slam again."

A smirk crawled onto my face. "I think she knows what's she's doing," I told Tim.

"Slam!" Jane ordered.

"Extreme Speed!" Dawn exclaimed.

From high up in the air, Togikiss began to dive and use Extreme Speed. She slammed into Dragonair, and ramming the Dragon type into the ground.

"Using the momentum from the fall gave Extreme Speed even more power than before!" The MC announced, "Will Dragonair be able to recover?"

Dragonair slow got back up, beginning to shake and wobble. The determination in its eyes showed she was not about to give up.

"Let's wrap this up!" Jane exclaimed, "Outrage!"

Dragonair's eyes began to glow and she shot towards Togikiss. She wrapped her tail around the fly type before throwing it around harshly. The attack uplifted sand and even shook the stadium. Finally Dragonair let go of Togikiss, letting her rolled to the ground. Togikiss struggled to stand, shaking and wobbling even more than Dragonair.

"I think it's over for Dawn," Tim said.

Suddenly, Dragonair began to slam her own head into the ground. "It looks like Outrage has left Dragonair confused!" The MC explained.

Dragonair's body fell limp, her swirly eyes showing she was knocked out. "And it looks like Dawn is the winner!" The MC announced, "Dragonair landed the final blow... On herself!"

As the score screen declared Dawn the victor, Tim and I finally let out deep breaths.

"Wow..." Tim said, "That was a close one..."

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

I returned Togikiss, thanking her for a job well done and putting her Pokéball in my bag. I saw Jane returning her Dragonair and walk off the field. I rushed off the field and followed her.

"Hey!" I exclaimed. She turned around and stopped walking. "Great battle, you almost had me for a while," I said, sticking out a hand.

She shrugged her shoulders and shook my hand. "Well, contests have never been my thing..." she said.

I tilted my head. "What do you mean?"

Jane twiddled her thumbs, sighing a little. "My ego, my big mouth, and I got me into this..." Jane grumbled.

We sat down on a bench; I was intrigued to learn more. "How?" I asked.

"Well, I said contests where stupid in front of a coordinator," Jane said. "She made a bet that I couldn't get past the appeals round of the Grand Festival..."

I face brightened. "But you did make it," I said, "So you won the bet."

"But it was hard to get here," Jane said, "Remember; I had to collect five ribbons... That wasn't easy..."

Jane sighed and began twiddling her thumbs again. "I wasn't very confident in my abilities as a coordinator, so I began selling watches, so that I had the money to pay when I lost the bet."

Jane smirked. "But now, I get the money from the bet and the extra money from the watches," She said cheerfully.

"That's great!" I said, patting her on the back.

Jane frowned. "Except for the fact my life as a trainer has been put on hold... I didn't earn eight badges in time for the Silver Conference, and missed it."

I frowned as well, pitying to girl. I was about to say something encouraging when Jane noticed something a bit away, her face scrunched into anger.

"**HEY**!" She exclaimed to someon, angrily.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

Adrianna, my Pokémon, and I had found our seats and had made ourselves comfortable. "I wonder who May has to battle," Adrianna said.

"Hello! And welcome to the second battle round on the orange field!" The MC said. "Here on the battle field today we have May from Petalburg City fighting against Webb from Olivine City!"

May and Webb ran out on stage. "Say, that's the guy who helped me find Gengar..." I said.

Adrianna nodded, "I remember him slightly..."

"Oh my," The MC said, "Webb is definitely dressed for success, look at all those stylish watches on his wrists!"

A crowd roared with laughter, amused by the MC's comment. Adrianna leaned forward and looked closely at Webb. "He does look really silly with all those watches on," She said.

"Yeah," I agreed, "I wonder why he's wearing them..."

"All right, coordinators, "Send out your Pokémon!" The MC declared.

"Raichu! Unveil yourself!" Webb said as he threw his Pokéball. It clicked open and a Raichu appeared on the field.

"Cool," Adrianna said, "It's a Raichu!"

May was grabbing her Pokéball, and was about to release it, when suddenly, something shot down from the sky and created an explosion.

"What was that?" I exclaimed. Pikachu leapt in front of me, cheeks sparking and preparing to attack if necessary.

The dust finally settled revealing a purple Ghost type taking a battle stance on the field. I looked at were my Pokémon were sitting and realized that Gengar was not sitting in the bleachers.

"I didn't know May owned a Gengar too," Adrianna said.

"She doesn't..." I grumbled, "That's _mine_..."

"Gengar..." Gengar said maliciously. He jumped around and did a few karate kicks.

May laughed and smiled. "Do you want to battle, Gengar?" she asked.

Gengar nodded, so May clipped her Pokéball back onto her belt. "Alright then," she said.

"Webb decided to use his Raichu while May unexpectedly went with a Gengar that fell from the sky!" The MC said. "Are the contestants ready?... Alright, 3... 2... 1... Fight!"

"Raichu, Use Thunderbolt!" Webb said.

"Double Team!" May ordered.

Gengar separated into several different Gengars, dodging the attack. The Gengars made goofy faces at Raichu, mocking her.

"Rai!" Raichu exclaimed, sending powerful lightning bolts in every single direction, making all the fakes disappear. No other Gengar was in sight.

"But... Where's the real one?" Webb asked. Suddenly, Gengar shot out of the ground and fired a Shadow Ball at Raichu, knocking her over.

"You better 'watch' out Webb," The MC said, "It looks like this Gengar has a few tricks up his sleeve."

The crowd laughed at the MC's pun. Webb simply pulled his top hat over his eyes and ignored them.

"Raichu, use Quick Attack!" Webb said. Raichu dashed forward as top speed, jumping up at Gengar, but she went right through the ghost type.

"Looks like Web forgot that Normal type attacks don't affect Ghost types, what a waste of _time_," The MC joked, the crowd laughed again.

Webb clenched fists, but kept his anger under control. "Raichu, Thunder Bolt again," he said through clenched teeth.

"Wow, he's keeping his temper under control pretty well," Adrianna observed.

"It's pretty impressive," I admitted, "I'd be pretty mad right about now."

"Shadow Ball!" May exclaimed.

"Dodge it with quick attack and use Thunder Wave!" Webb shouted.

Gengar charged up a Shadow Ball and threw it at Raichu, who managed to avoid it and sent out Thunder Wave. Gengar froze for a moment as electricity emanated from him.

"Looks like Gengar is paralyzed," Adrianna said.

"Now's our chance! Use Thunder!" Webb exclaimed. Raichu quickly charged up and threw the Thunder attack, but in the nick of time, Gengar recovered and teleported out of the way.

"Use Hypnosis!" May shouted. Gengar nodded and sent yellow rings at Raichu, instantly putting her to sleep.

"Now use Shadow Ball!" May said. Gengar chucked a Shadow Ball at Raichu, knocking her backwards, but she didn't wake up.

"Better check your watches," the MC said. "It must be past bed time!" The crowd once again began to laugh.

"**SHUUUUUTT UUUUUUUUPPP**!"

...

The entire field fell silent. Webb's hat had fallen off his head, revealing his red face. "Oh snaps..." Adrianna whispered.

Webb's loud outburst woke up Raichu, who shook her head and snapped herself back to her senses. "What is this?" Webb exclaimed, "A Pokémon contest or a comedy show?"

_Nobody replied._

"Fine then," Webb growled fiercely, "Raichu! Thunder Bolt!"

Raichu fired a powerful electric shock at Gengar, knocking him off his feet.

"Discharge!"

Raichu threw her head back before releasing a large shock of electricity.

"Volt Tackle!"

Raichu charged forward and slammed into Gengar, sending him into the sky.

"Thunder!"

While Gengar was helpless in the air, Raichu fired even more electricity at him, hurting him more.

"What's wrong with May?" I exclaimed. She was frozen in her place, jaw gaping open.

"Finish it with Slam!" Webb ordered. Raichu charged forward, but went right through Gengar again.

"Webb must have forgotten Slam is a normal type attack in his rage, he's all brute force and no strategy now..." I explained.

May suddenly recollected herself after seeing Webb's mistake. "Gengar, Double Team!" She said, Gengar multiplied across the field, "Now use Shadow Ball!"

All the Gengars fired Shadow Balls. Raichu got hit by the real one and rolled on the round from the knock back. "Confusion!" May said quickly.

Before Raichu could recover, Gengar suspended her up in midair and began the slam her into the ground using Confusion.

"Now use Hypnosis!" May said. Gengar once again put Raichu asleep. "Dream Eater!" May continued.

Gengar charged forward and flew straight through Raichu, knocking her out.

...

No applause, no declaration of May's victory, no sound. Everyone just quietly gazed at the battle field. Webb sighed and returned Raichu, bent over and picked up his hat, nodded to May, and walk off the stage.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

As Webb left the stage, the crowd seemed to recover from their trances and began to applause. "After a surprisingly powerful comeback by Webb, May somehow held her ground and managed to win!" The MC said.

I hurried off the field and rushed to find Webb. I looked around and saw him rushing down the hallway. I broke into a run and followed him. "Webb!" I exclaimed.

He spun around and looked at me. "Yeah?" he asked.

I caught up to him and stuck out my hand. "Great battle, you almost had me for a while," I told him.

Webb smiled and shook my hand. "Yeah, you weren't too bad yourself," he told me, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some very important business to attend to."

He spun back around and began to walk off. "What is it?" I asked him. He stopped in front of a trash can and began taking off one of the watches.

"Arceus, I can't wait to get rid of these dumb watches," he said as he unstrapped one and threw it in the trash.

"**HEY**!"

We turned and saw an angry Jane storm over to us, Dawn following close behind. "You have a lot of nerve throwing away that watch!" She exclaimed, getting in Webb's face.

"Oh yeah?" He asked, "Well your stupid, _ugly_, **un-stylish **watches cost me the match!"

Jane stomped her foot, "What about our deal?" She demanded.

"It's over," Webb smirked, "I'm not in the Grand Festival anymore; I don't need to wear them!"

Feeling sorry for Webb after what had happened, I felt I should defend him. "He's right," I said, "That was the deal."

Jane sighed and hung her head in defeat. "Fine," she grumbled.

Webb smiled, "Oh I'm going to enjoy this..." he unstrapped another watch and let of a relieved and overly dramatic "_Ahhhh_..."

"**THAT'S IT**!" Jane exclaimed, tackling Webb to the ground.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

Everyone was in the coordinator room, although the next round of battles wouldn't be until tomorrow, the match ups where about to be determined.

"So, there will be two battles next round?" Adrianna asked.

"Yep!" Jane said, "It'll be the top four battling it out to the next round, and then the final round will be next!"

Tim bounced on his toes, "Oh man," he said, "This is going to be **so **awesome!"

Ash tapped his chin, "So if May and Dawn are two of the top four, who are the other two?"

Dawn gestured the TV, which would display the rounds in the next minute or so. "We'll find out soon enough," She said.

Harmonia happily skipped into the room, she pointed to herself and smiled. "Guess who's made to the top four!" She said happily.

...

Ash spoke up, "Was it-?"

"This guy!" She said, gesturing to herself. She walked up to the TV. "I came to see who my next opponent will be," she said.

"Oh, no kidding," Webb said, "I thought you walked up because the TV looked like a giant ice-cream cone."

Harmonia glared at Webb, "Oh **shut your trap**!" She shot back; Webb did his best to hold back a snicker.

The television flashed on and the next round pair ups were revealed. "Check it out," Adrianna said, "Harmonia and May are battling next round."

"Yeah! And Dawn and some kid named Adam will be battling too!" Jane said.

The room went silent...

...

Harmonia glanced at Dawn and Paul. "_Awwwwkarrrrrd_..." she said.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh snaps.<strong>

**Nope, Adam isn't dead, he just... Disappeared.**

**Wow, thirty chapters, daaaaang, that's like... More than 29... :D**

**So writing this chapter wasn't as horrifying as I expected. I actually enjoyed writing these battles. So yeah, that's an improvement.**

**I also apologize to those who lost, I wish you could all win.**

**I'm going to remind you again about the "Should I have OCs in my next Fanfiction?" Poll (I'm talking about using your guy's OCs, not making them all up myself...) Thus far, OCs are getting support, so if you don't like OCs, go to the poll on my page and say so... Or support it if you'd like. I need all of your opinions...**

**So yeah... That's all I got to say for now. Oh and don't forget to review!**

**Go vote!**

**The Shiny Gengar**


	31. Chapter 31: That Awkward Moment

**Chapter 31: That Awkward Moment**

* * *

><p><strong><em>That awkward moment when you realize that wasn't an automatic door.<em>**

_**That awkward moment when you accidentally put down 2011**_

_**That awkward moment when you realize Harley was actually a guy**_

**O.o_  
><em>  
>So I got a few people asking when FTaL would end. I don't know, Ash still has a mystery Frontier Brain to battle after the Grand Festival.<strong>

**But to be honest, I'm ready for this story to be over; I've been writing this since June 2011. Now don't your hair all frazzled, I'm not gonna rush or end this ASAP.**

**Just because I'm ready to be done with this doesn't mean I don't want to write it, I will sad, relieved, and satisfied with it when this is all over. I have learned so much from writing this story, it always makes me smile.**

**But let's not dwell on endings yet, because we aren't that far.**

**Again, first scene is pointless, but still fun :D**

**I don't own Pokémon.**

* * *

><p><strong>Paul's POV<strong>

"Hello, would you like to buy a watch?"

I turned around and saw the girl who had battle Dawn yesterday standing before me, she was displaying her many watches.

"Uh, no thank you," I told her. She huffed and put her hands on her hips.

"They're on sale for 50% off, they all must go!" She continued.

"Sorry, but I don't need a watch," I told her.

"Yes you do," She insisted.

"No I don't," I assured her.

"What time is it now?"

"It's-... Uh..."

"Exactly, you need a watch."

I sighed and smirked. "You're good," I told her.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"Just remember to stay focused, never take your eyes off the battle, never let you opponent get an opening."

I sat in front of a mirror preparing for my next match. Adrianna, who was combing my hair, had self-proclaimed herself to be my coach, that didn't bother me though, I needed all the help I could get.

I looked at myself in the mirror, I was wearing the same Arabic outfit I had worn during the Wallace Cup. "It's funny," I said, "Contests are supposed to be about Pokémon, yet we trainers still need to dress so formally..."

"Well, someone must of had reasons behind coming up with that rule," Adrianna said as she struggled to get a knot in my hair. "Sorry," she said as I let out a yelp.

"This didn't start until I went through Johto the first time," I said, "Before; we just dressed in normal clothes."

I saw Adrianna tilt her head. "You've gone through Johto twice?" She asked. I nodded my head in response. "Why?" she asked.

I sighed, "Well that first time was stupid, I felt obligated to follow my rivals, even though Ash was going to a Sinnoh, which had contests as well," I explained, "And this time I decided to go with him because I had a crush on him."

Adrianna smiled, "Did you ever tell him?" she asked.

I smiled, "Yeah, I had to pound it through that dense skull of his because he couldn't take a hint."

"Will the coordinators battling out on the orange field please prepare to enter," we heard over the speaker phone. I sighed and stood up.

"Wish me luck," I said, walking towards the door.

"Wait a second, forgot your hat," Adrianna said, grabbing the Arabic hat from the desk and putting it on my head.

I twirled around, "Do I look good?" I asked.

Adrianna flashed me a thumbs up. "You look great, go knock 'em dead!"

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

My Pokémon and I sat down in the bleachers with Webb for the May's battle on the orange field.

Paul, Jane, and Tim had gone to watch Dawn's battle, which took place at the same time. I thought the fact that both battles took place at the same time was stupid, but Paul explained that they didn't want any trainers getting extra training time.

"May against Harmonia," I said, "This should be interesting."

"Pika Pikachu," Pikachu agreed.

"Hello everyone! And welcome to the third battle round of the Grand Festival!" The MC shouted, "The top four coordinators will be battling to reach to the top, so you can bet you'll be seeing some amazing battles!"

The crowd roared with excitement, Pikachu and Gengar sat on the rails and cheered wildly. "This is going to be great, ain't it, Lucario?" I asked my fighting type, I turned my head and saw he wasn't there.

"Lucario?" I said looking around, "Oh great..." I grumbled.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

The entrance to the field opened wide and let the sun pour in. The roar of the crowd grew louder as the massive door that had blocked the noise opened.

"Here goes nothing," I said, and with that, I stepped out into the sun, causing the crowd to roar even louder. With determination written on my face, I stepped up onto the field and nodded to Harmonia, who had stepped up on the opposite side of the battle field.

"Would each trainer call out their Pokémon?" The MC asked.

I grabbed a Pokéball and tossed it into the air. "Blaziken, take the stage!"

Harmonia looked at Blaziken as the fire type let out an intimidating roar. "This will be interesting," She said with a smile, "Liz, it's battle time!" Hamonia's tossed her Pokéball into the air. It clicked open and released a familiar, large, orange dragon.

"Whoa... A Charizard..." I said under my breath. Charizard blasted fire into the air and let out an intimidating roar of her own.

"May goes with her powerhouse, Blaziken while Hamonia goes with her bulldozer, Charizard!" The MC said, "It's the battle of the fire starters, this will be a fantastic match indeed! Alright then, begin!"

"Flamethrower!" Harmonia and I shouted at the same time. The two Pokémon threw their heads back before unleashing the mighty fire type attacks. The two pillars of fire collided in the middle of the battle field.

"It looks as though the two trainers are trying to figure out with fire type is stronger," The MC said, "And from the looks of it, both Pokémon's power is equally matched!"

"Liz, Fly!" Harmonia exclaimed. Charizard shot into the air, stopping Flamethrower.

"Sky Uppercut, Blaziken!" I shouted. Blaziken also stopped her Flamethrower and crouched down before jumping into the air. Her claws sparkled as she attempted to attack the flying Charizard. But the orange dragon did a spin maneuver and evaded the attack, and Blaziken began to fall back down to earth.

"Blaze!" Blaziken grunted as she landed on her feet.

"Use Shadow Claw!" Harmonia exclaimed. Charizard dove towards Blaziken, preparing to attack.

"Jump over her at the last minute!" I exclaimed. Charizard banked and shot towards Blaziken with Shadow Claw ready. Timing the jump just right, Blaziken hopped into the air and acrobatically and spread out her legs, successfully dodging and jumping as Charizard flew under her.

Charizard let out an angry roar and did a U-turn, heading for Blaziken. "Brick Break!" I said. Blaziken nodded and dashed forward at Charizard, readying the Brick Break attack.

"Take to the sky, Liz!" Harmonia said. Right before Blaziken could hit Charizard, she shot back into the sky.

"It's a battle of speed and acrobatics as both Pokémon struggle to land a blow!" The MC said, "Will either Pokémon be able to deal any damage?"

"Flamethrower!" Harmonia exclaimed. Safely high in the sky, Charizard blasted out the fire attack towards Blaziken.

"Look out!" I exclaimed, in the nick of time, Blaziken did a back flip, avoiding the Flamethrower. "Sky Uppercut!" I shouted.

Blaziken crouched and again leapt into the air, but was unable to reach Charizard, who was high up in the air.

_How do I attack Charizard from way up there?_I asked myself. I looked around and noticed a poll off the field. Atop the poll were gigantic speakers that the MC's voice was constantly coming out of.

"Blaziken! Sky Uppercut again, but use the poll to gain more height!" I ordered. Blaziken ran at the poll, quickly jumping and began to run up it at top speed. She reached the tip of the poll and leapt off, her claws glowing. She grabbed Charizard from high up, causing the flying type to fly around crazily.

"With some epic pole running, Blaziken finally reached Charizard's level!" The MC declared.

Blaziken rode clumsily in Charizard's back, causing the flying type to fly out of control.

"Uh ho..." I said. As Charizard began to fly around uncontrollably, she began to fly towards the large screen that was displaying the current scores and timer.

***CRASH!***

Charizard slammed into the screen, shattering the glass and causing sparks to fly around everywhere. With a roar, Charizard and Blaziken fell to the ground. The score board sparked and sizzled, suddenly we heard a moaning sound. The huge screen began to fall off it place and down towards the ground to Blaziken and Charizard.

"Blaziken! Grabbed Charizard and run!" I scream as I watched the screen fall towards the two. Blaziken stumbled to her feet trying the pick up Charizard and run, but there would be no way to get out of there in time, they would be crushed by the falling screen.

"No!" Harmonia exclaimed. There was nothing we could do but watch in horror. Suddenly, a purple aura appeared around the screen and it slowed down and came to a halt.

"Wha-?" The MC said over the speakers.

"Gen... _Gar_..."

Much to my surprise, the familiar little, purple Gengar was holding the screen up with Confusion. But he was panting heavily; the task must not have been an easy one, due to the screen's extremely large size and weight.

Without a second to lose, Blazkien and Charizard attempted to get out from under the screen floating above them. Charizard tried to fly, but stumbled and fell to the ground.

"Gen... **Gar**..." Gengar growled, showing that he couldn't hold the screen up much longer. Without needing my command, Blaziken help support Charizard and the two quickly rush away from the screen, to safety.

"**GAR**!" Gengar said as he finally stopped using confusion and let go of the screen, which came crashing to the ground with an explosion that shook the stadium.

...

The dust settled and revealed Blaziken watching over Charizard, who looked badly hurt, and Gengar, who was lying on the ground next to the rubble of the screen.

"Gengar!" I exclaimed, running to the ghost type.

"Liz!" Harmonia exclaimed, running to her Pokémon.

I had a hard time running in my dress, but managed to pick it up and came to a screeching halt next to Gengar. I got down on my knees and rolled him over so that I could see his face.

"It looks like Harmonia is checking on her Charizard while May is checking the mysterious Gengar that appeared from out of nowhere," I heard the MC say.

"Are you okay, buddy?" I asked as I looked over him. He was breathing heavily as he opened his eyes and stuck his hand out, giving me a thumbs up.

_Thank Arceus_, I thought, _he's not hurt, just exhausted_.

I gave him a pat on the head as he slowly got up on his feet. "Geeeeen-" He stumbled forward, luckily I caught him before he fell on his face.

I picked up the small Gengar, but instead of staying in my arms, he weakly floated above my hat and lay down on my hat. Why he would rather rest on my head rather than my arms was beyond me, but I decided to drop it and check Charizard and Blaziken.

"How is she?" I asked Harmonia as I walked up to her.

Harmonia sighed as she examined Charizard. "Liz hit the screen head on, so she's hurt pretty badly there, as well as her left wing, that's why she needed Blaziken's help getting out from under the screen."

Harmonia noticed the resting Gengar on my head. "And it looks like I got this little guy to thank for saving her as well," She said as she rubbed Gengar, "Is it yours?"

I shook my head. "Actually, Gengar is Ash's, but I developed a pretty strong bond with him as well."

Suddenly, we heard a buzzer sound. "I hate to say it, but the timer has gone off, the match has ended."

There was a wave of "boos" from the crowd, who wanted to see the rest of the battle.

"The way the points add up, it appears that May is the winner!" The MC shouted. Harmonia let out a sigh.

"Oh well," Harmonia said. She rubbed Liz's head before returning her. "It was fun while it lasted; tell Ash I said thanks for Gengar's assistance."

With that, Harmonia walked off the field, most likely to find the Pokémon Center.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

"Whoa, that was really a close call for Blaziken and Charizard, quick thinking, Ash," Webb said, "If not for Gengar's help, I don't think they would have made it."

"Pika Pikachu," Pikachu sighed in relief after seeing the two fire types where okay.

"I hope Gengar is okay," I said worriedly. I watched May scurry over to him and check on him. I saw him give her a thumbs up, and let out a sigh of relief.

I listened to the crowd boo when they heard the match was officially over, and smiled when I heard that May had won the match.

"Kachu pika pika ChuchuPi," Pikachu said.

"Yeah, let's go down and see May, and then we have to look for Lucario," I told him and Webb. With that, we left the bleachers.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

I walked off the field with Gengar after returning Blaziken. I turned around and took one last look at the giant television screen that was now in rubble.

"Someone is going to have fun cleaning that mess up," I said. I felt bad for helping destroy property, but managed to shrug it off; no one had said anything or confronted me.

"Hey, May!" I turned to the familiar sounding voice and saw Ash, Pikachu, and Webb walking up to me.

Ash walked up to me and smiled, "You did great," he said, embracing me. Careful not to let Gengar slip off my head, I smiled and hugged Ash back.

"That was really close though," Webb said, "So intense."

I let go of Ash, and felt Gengar move from on top of my head. The ghost type wearily floated from my head and onto Ash's.

"I should probably take Gengar to the Pokémon Center and let him recharge his batteries," Ash said, as Gengar flopped down on his head.

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

I stood in front of the door to the field, waiting for the cue to run out. The waiting was killing me though, the idea that I was going to fight Adam, the kid who had a crush me, sent Butterfrees into my stomach. I sighed and tried not to think about it, getting nervous would only make things worse. Suddenly, the large door opened and I was signaled to make my entrance. "Oh dear Arceus," I grumbled. With a deep breath, I ran out onto the field. I looked down at the dirt when Adam stepped up to the field, also awkwardly looking at the ground.

_Ugh, this is too weird_, I thought to myself. I glanced at Adam shortly before quickly averting my gaze again.

"We got Dawn from Twinleaf Town battling against Adam, who is also from Twinleaf Town!" The MC declared.

I froze. _What? _I thought.

"Would each contestant send out their Pokémon?" The MC asked.

Without a word, Adam tossed his Pokéball into the air, it snapped open and the green, grass type from Unova he had showed came out.

Everyone turned to look at me and see who I would send out, but I couldn't move, I was frozen in place.

"Dawn, would you please send out you're Pokémon?" The MC asked. It was as if I had lost control of my body, I couldn't move. I just stared at Adam, who refused to meet my eyes.

"Dawn? I'm afraid we'll have to disqualify you if you don't send out a Pokémon," The MC warned.

Adam finally looked at me, as if asking why I had yet to send out a Pokémon. But now that our eyes were locked onto each other, I had and even harder time trying to get myself to move.

"I'm sorry to say this," The MC began, "But Dawn is-"

"RRRRMMM!"

I heard a loud growl, and saw Lucario leap over me, flip acrobatically, and gracefully land on the field. "It looks like Dawn has decided to go with a Lucario!" The MC announced, "Alright then, begin!"

...

Neither Adam or I called out a command. We just looked at each other while our Pokémon awaited orders.

"Hello? Guys?" The MC asked.

Adam blinked and nodded to me. "Ladies first," he said.

That seemed to snap me back to reality; I shook my head and brought myself back to my senses. I examined Lucario and realized that if I was going to battle with him, I couldn't use any of the strategies Paul had taught me and my Pokémon. _Looks like I'll have to do this without Paul's help_, I thought.

I quickly did my best to recall all of Lucario's moves I had seen when Ash used him. "Aura Sphere!" I ordered, Aura Sphere was the move I remembered best. Lucario charged up and fired the glowing orb at Servine.

"Duck!" Adam said, Servine crouched and rolled out of the way of the attack. But the Aura Sphere made a U-turn and slammed into Servine from behind.

"Wha-?" Adam said, oblivious to why it did that.

"Aura Sphere never misses," I said proudly. "Now use Bone Rush!"

Lucario dashed forward and created a light stick; he leapt into the air and prepared to strike. But at the last second, Servine sidestepped and Bone Rush went into the ground.

"Rm?" Lucario questioned.

"Looks like Lucario's 'bone' from Bone Rush is stuck in the ground and won't come out!" The MC said.

Adam smirked. "My turn," he said, "Use Solar Beam!"

With the sun shining brightly over the stadium, Solar Beam took virtually no time to charge, and the powerful pillar of light stuck Lucario as he was still trying to free his bone.

***BOOM!***

Lucario slammed into the wall, and fell to the ground. Slowly, he staggered back to his feet.

"Looks like the close range Solar Beam really damaged Lucario, as well as Dawn's points," The MC said.

"Are you okay, Lucario?" I asked, not wanting to injure a Pokémon that wasn't even mine too badly.

Lucario grunted and rose to his feet. I looked over at the grass type we were battling. _It may look pretty, but it sure packs a punch_, I thought.

"Alright, Lucario, let's step this up! Double Aura Sphere!" I ordered. Lucario somehow knew what I meant by double Aura Sphere and began forming two balls, he chucked them both at the same time, and they went flying towards Servine. The Aura Sphere spiraled around each other before meshing together, creating a large Aura Sphere.

"Send it back!" Adam ordered. Servine spun around and slapped the sphere with his tail, sending back at Lucario.

"Oh no you don't," I said, "Deflect it with Bone Rush!"

Lucario's 'bone' had been released from its place in the ground when Servine had launched the Solar Beam. Now attempting to outrun the large Aura Sphere, Lucario dashed to the light stick and picked it up. With lightning fast speed, he spun around and smacked the Aura Sphere away.

The sphere made a turn and headed back at Servine, who smacked it again.

"Looks like as if Lucario and Servine are playing a match of Deadman's Volley!" The MC exclaimed.

The two exchanged the attack several times. As the Aura Sphere headed back to Lucario for the umpteenth time, I shouted, "Jump and hit it!"

Lucario dashed forward and jumped a short distance. Using the momentum he has built up, he shot high into the air, far higher than I had thought possible. He spun the light stick around acrobatically several times as the Aura Sphere flew towards him.

With a mighty thrust, he slammed down at the Aura Sphere with Bone Rush, sending it back at Servine with such force, it would be impossible to deflect.

***BOOM!***

The Aura Sphere finally hit its mark and slammed Servine into the ground, uplifted tons of dust. Lucario fell from the sky and began spinning the stick around like a fan, blowing away the uplifted dirt, revealing Servine, who was still standing.

* * *

><p><strong>Paul's POV<strong>

"Coil!" Adam shouted.

After Adam gave the command, Servine seemed to curl up into a ball, and began flashing purple.

"What's Coil?" Tim asked.

"It's a status improving move," I told him, "It raises attack and defense, not to mention accuracy, Servine's attacks will be harder to dodge."

"Oh man," Jane said, "**YOU CAN BEAT IT DAWN**!" She called out loudly, causing Tim and I to quickly cover our ears.

Servine popped open, and took a battle stance. "Good! Now use Leaf Tornado!" Adam shouted. Servine began the attack and surrounded Lucario with hundreds of leaves, which spun around him like a tornado. Lucario spun around violently before being thrown out, and sliding on the ground. With a grunt, he rose to his feet.

"His Pokémon are admirably powerful, especially for contests," I said, "I wonder if he's a battler as well as a coordinator..."

"Okay Lucario, Bone Rush and Extreme Speed!" Dawn shouted. Lucario dashed forward with his light stick, he moved so fast the Bone Rush left a marvelous path of light trailing behind him.

He prepared to attack and thrust the Bone Rush into Servine's gut. With a flash of light the grass type was sent flying backward. Servine flipped and landed gracefully on his feet.

"What?" Jane exclaimed, "It doesn't look like Servine took any damage from that combo at all!"

I folded my arms and studied the Servine. "Well, remember it has the defense boost from Coil, it can take hits like that now," I told her.

"Leaf Blade!" Adam exclaimed. Devine swung his tail and sent sharp grass type attacks at Lucario.

"Try to dodge!" Dawn shouted. Lucario leapt into the air to dodge, but the leaf blade attacks moved too quickly, nailing Lucario.

"Again, Coil raises accuracy," I said before anyone tried to ask, "Attacks will be much more powerful and harder to dodge."

"Well what can Dawn do to beat this Servine? It's really giving her a hard time," Jane asked.

"Have Lucario use a boost move himself and then a powerful attack," I said.

Jane tilted her head, "such as?"

I smirked, "I got an idea. Now Dawn has to figure it put before Lucario falls," I said.

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

_**UGH!**_ I thought to myself. _Ever since the Servine had used Coil, the battle has gone downhill for me.  
><em>  
>I need a new approach, I thought, I wonder if Ash taught Lucario any new moves that I don't know about. I quickly pulled out my Pokédex and scanned Lucario; his moves were then displayed on the screen.<p>

Aura Sphere, Bone Rush, Extreme Speed, Swords Dance, Close- Hey what's Swords Dance? I thought.

"Swords Dance!" I called out, still looking at the Pokédex. Lucario began to dance and glow a bright white.

"Close Combat? That sound powerful," I said as I saw the move on the Pokédex. Lucario finished Sword's dance and the glowing diminished. "Close Combat!" I shouted as I put away my Pokédex.

Lucario suddenly smirked. He dashed forward and rammed into Servine, and began to rapidly punch and kick the grass type.

"Adam's points take a steep dive!" The MC said.

I smirked, "Now we're even, jump and use Bone Rush!" I exclaimed. Lucario leapt into the air off of Servine and formed his light stick one again. Gravity kicked in and he began to fall, he slammed his Bone Rush attack into Servine, sending him flying.

"Mega Drain!" Adam shouted. Servine stretched out a few vines and wrapped them around Lucario, and began sucking away at his health. He clenched his teeth and let out a growl.

The vines eventually let go of him and he fell to his knee, but slowly stood back up.

"Aura Sphere and Bone Rush!" I exclaimed, Lucario formed and Aura Sphere and tossed it into the air. He grabbed his light stick and smacked the Aura Sphere like a base ball; it shot at Servine and nailed him, knocking him to his back.

Just as Servine rose back to his feet, the buzzer went off; I looked at the screen and saw the timer on the screen had reached 0:00.

"_Rmph_..." Lucario groaned before falling over, knocked out.

"Lucario!" I exclaimed, running up to him and kneeling down beside him.

"Because Lucario fell after the timer went off, we will determine the winner by points," The MC explained, "which is...

* * *

><p><strong>Paul's POV<strong>

"… Dawn from Twinleaf town!" The MC announced

Looking up at the score board I saw there was barley a difference in the score. "Typical," I grumbled, why were each trainers' number of points always so close to each other?

"Well, we should probably go down there and help Dawn with Lucario," I said. With that, we got up from the bleachers, and made our way down to the field where Dawn was kneeling by Lucario.

"Great job, Dawn," Jane said happily.

Dawn smiled and stroked Lucario's fur.

_"Hey..."_

We looked up and saw Adam standing there. "Great game, you earned your victory," he said.

Dawn looked at him for a minute before smiling. She stepped forward towards him, but he backed away a little. Sighing, Dawn stuck her hand out towards Adam for a handshake.

Adam moved closer and grabbed her hand to shake, but when he grabbed it, she pulled him forward and hugged him.

"Erk!" Adam exclaimed, glanced at me, looking rather afraid. I simply smirked and nodded to him. Adam awkwardly wrapped his arms around Dawn returning the embrace.

"I don't want you to be awkward," Dawn said, letting go of him, "friends?"

Adam nodded and smiled, "Friends."

I turned to Tim, "Alright, you get Lucario from under the shoulders, I'll grab his legs," I told him.

Tim nodded and did as I told him. Together we lifted up Lucario and headed towards the Pokémon Center.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

Ash, Pikachu, Webb, Adrianna, Harmonia and I sat in the Pokémon Center, waiting for Nurse Joy to return with Gengar and Harmonia's Charizard.

"I hope Liz is okay," Harmonia said for the hundredth time.

Ash stood up, Pikachu sitting on his shoulder. "I'm going to go find Lucario, I'm starting to get worried," he said.

Just as Ash was about to leave, Paul and Tim came in carrying Lucario.

Ash's jaw dropping and his eyes widened. "What happened?" he exclaimed, rushing to the knocked out Lucario.

"I-I'm sorry, Ash," Dawn stammered, "I used him in my contest battle and-"

"What?" Ash exclaimed, "You just used him without telling me?"

"Ash, just listen," Paul said calmly.

"No!" he exclaimed. He let out a long growl before he pulled his cap over his eyes as his face began to darken with anger. "I can't believe this!" he exclaimed.

"Ash, wait!" I shouted as he stomped off. I stood up and rushed to Lucario as they tried to get a Nurse Joy to take him.

"H-he wanted to battle," Dawn said, tears running down her face, "H-He... I-I..."

I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I'll talk to him," I told her.

"R-really?" She asked, I nodded before spinning around and walked out of the Pokémon Center, after Ash.

I saw him sitting on a park bench with Pikachu, rubbing the electric types head. I walked up to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Hey," I said, sitting down next to him.

Ash took a deep breath. "Hey," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

...

"So about back there-" I began.

"Yeah, I... I don't know what came over me," Ash interrupted, "I was already upset with Gengar getting hurt and then finding out that Dawn used Lucario behind my back... And got him hurt..."

I sighed and rubbed his back. "I'm going to have to fight another Frontier Brain soon," Ash continued, "How am I going to do that if my Pokémon aren't in top shape?"

I looked down at Pikachu, who didn't seem to be mad like Ash had been. "You know Lucario wanted to battle for Dawn, right?" I asked him.

He gazed at the ground for a few seconds. "No, but I'm not really surprised..." he said.

...

We sat there in silence for a few minutes before Ash sighed and got up. "I should probably apologize to Dawn," He said.

I smiled and stood up as well. "Yeah, that would probably be the right thing to do."

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter: The final Grand Festival battle, the two remaining contestants (aka Dawn and May) will be battling to determine who will achieve their dream and become the top coordinator.<strong>

**Will May finally beat Dawn? Or will Dawn manage to defeat May like before? :O O_O o.O**

**So there you have it, the end of the chapter. I bet all you guys are all like ****_*pfffft* _"May is totally gonna win."**

**But of course, that's what you thought the ****_last _time May battled Dawn. :D**

**MWAHAHAHAHAHA!**

***Ahem* So to you people who are like "WTH is Deadman's Volley?" Play The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, or Google search it.**

**Anyways, special thanks to the people who review the last chapter, I love to read them oh so very much.**

**I'd also like to thank all the people to voted on the "Should I use OCs in my next big Fanfiction" poll. If you haven't voted yet, make sure you do give your input. (OC support is still winning last I checked.)**

**Yep, so that's all I gotta say for now, be sure to come back next Friday to check out the next exciting chapter of Fiercer than a Legendary****!**

**The Shiny Gengar**


	32. Chapter 32: Ice and Other Things Nice

**Chapter 32: Ice and Other Things Nice**

* * *

><p><strong>So I wasn't very happy with how the last chapter came out... Oh well, hopefully this one will be better.<strong>

**I have surprisingly been able to find time to write, despite all the craziness in my life right now. So I've been able to work on a side project that I'll be publishing on here someday. It's gonna be awesome, but it's not my next big project, it's more like a medium project (lol fail).**

**It's longer than a one-shot, shorter than this story. (I honestly don't know if I'll ever be able to match anything to FTaL's length, this story is so much longer than I expected...)**

**Yeah, so I've been working on some awesome things for the Advanceshipping community on fanfiction, kind of as a secondary project. So when FTaL is finally finished, I'll wrap up the secondary project as well. After all that... I'll post the secondary project and then move on to my next big story, which I haven't begun writing.**

**So yeah... Big plans...**

**_Big_, big plans...**

**I don't own Pokémon**

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

It's funny how when you're nervous, you can't seem to stop moving. You do whatever it takes to keep a continual flow of movement. In my case, I pace, I walk back and forth continually, all while trying to think about happy things... Like Ash, food, shopping, and Pikachu... And Gengar...

I growled in frustration. I hated being nervous, I couldn't think of anything that could be worse... Well except for maybe having a broken heart... But I was lucky enough to not have to experience that.

"It's okay to be nervous, May," Adrianna said as she watched me pace. "Just don't let it affect you while you're battling."

Typically, I was able to keep my cool during contests, and even during the Grand Festival, but I had been struggling to keep control of myself for most of this Grand Festival, and it was because I knew it would come down to this. I knew that if I wasn't beaten first, I would eventually have to battle Dawn... _Again_...

The fact that Dawn had managed to beat me in two other contests, three if you count the double battle with Ash, was not a confidence booster.

"Just try to take your mind off the battle," Webb suggested, "Think about Ash or something."

I groaned and tried my best to take my mind off the contest battle that would occur shortly. _What's a girl to do?  
><em>  
>I began to pace faster, quickening my steps as I strolled back and forth across the room. "Think about Ash, think about Ash," I whispered under my breath.<p>

Webb and Adrianna were sitting in my dressing room, trying their best to encourage me. Unfortunately, the one person I needed the most at that moment wasn't there for me. He had said something about getting some training in before my battle.

"Fine time to train," I grumbled. I sighed and fell to my knees; my Arabic hat fell off my head as I fell. "Oh, I can't do this!" I exclaimed, pounding the floor.

"Don't say that," Webb said comfortingly, he stood up and walked over to me "I'm sure you'll do great." He grabbed my hat off the ground and placed it back on my head. "No need to worry," he assured me.

Somehow, the sentence only reminded me of Dawn.

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

"Buttoned dress?"

"Check."

"Fixed ponytail?"

"Check."

"Confidence?"

"Check."

I sat in front of the mirror; Jane and I were going through a list of things to make sure I was prepared for my battle.

"Don't get too overly confident," Paul warned, "May is a tough opponent."

I looked at him through the reflection of the mirror. "I beat her in our last two battles against each other, I can do it again," I assured him.

Paul sighed. "Dawn, you got lucky last time," He said, "If May's heel hadn't been hurting, she could have won."

I pouted. "Don't listen to him, Dawn," Jane advised, "You need to stay confident!"

"It's just a warning," Paul grumbled. I got up from my seat and walked over to him, pecking him on the lips.

"And I appreciate it," I told him with a smile.

Paul smiled at me before turning towards the door. "Looks like you're set here, I'll be in the bleachers waiting for the battle," he said, "Knock 'em dead."

I flashed him a thumbs up before he disappeared behind the door. As soon as the door shut, Adam opened it back up and stepped into the room. "You ready for the battle, Dawn?" he asked.

I fluffed my hair, inspecting it closely. "As ready as I'll ever be!" I said cheerfully.

Adam tilted his head. "Wow, you're not nervous at all?" he asked.

I smiled and shook my head. "Nope!" I said happily.

"Have you picked out your two Pokémon?" he asked.

"Yep!" I replied cheerfully.

The final battle round was a double battle. Each trainer chooses two Pokémon and must get them to work in sync. Adam turned back to the door. "Well, good luck," he said as he stepped out of the room.

The door clicked shut, I turned to Jane. "How do I look?" I asked.

Jane smiled brightly and nodded. "Like a million bucks," she said.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"Deep breaths," Webb said, "Long, deep breaths."

I had gotten off the floor and Webb and Adrianna had sat me down on a chair. I was taking deep, long breaths to try to calm down.

"Oh, why is this so hard!" I exclaimed, burying my face in my hands.

"It's normal to be nervous like this, May," Adrianna said.

"Yeah, just don't worry, and you'll be fine," Webb said.

I rolled my eyes. "Easy for you to say..." I grumbled.

"Would the final two contestants take their positions?" A voice rang through the room, coming from a speaker hanging from the ceiling in the corner of the room.

"H-here goes n-nothing..." I stuttered, slowly standing up from my seat.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

My Pokémon and I rushed down the many halls in the main building, trying to find May's dressing room. Lucario made a fairly quick recovery after his contest battle with Dawn.

"Come on, come on," I growled as we rushed past several doors.

"Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed, pointing towards the room I had remembered May to be in.

"You found it, Pikachu!" I exclaimed, dashing to it. I knocked on the door and attempted to open it, but it was locked.

"Hello?" I asked, knocking again. "Shoot, they're already preparing to enter the field!" With that, I broke into a run again towards the coordinator room, which was the entrance to the battle field May and Dawn would be using.

"May!" I exclaimed as I dashed into the coordinator room. Looking around I saw her standing before the large entrance. She turned and looked at me, an expression of relief washed over her face.

"Ash!" She exclaimed, running up to me and hugging me tightly. I could feel her body shaking with nervousness.

_"She could use a confidence boost," _Dawn's voice rang in my head.

"Oh, you have no idea how happy I am to see you," May groaned as she hugged me tightly.

_"I don't know what else I can do I've told her she'll do fine a thousand times."  
><em>  
>"Gengar," Gengar said, hugging May from behind. She giggled slightly.<p>

_"You can give her a better conference boost through actions rather than words."_

"Pika pika, ChuchuPi" Pikachu said, hopping off my shoulder and rubbed his cheek against hers.

_"What do you have in mind?"_

"Hrrmm," Lucario hummed gently, hugging May as well.

_"Oh, I don't know... Give her a reassuring hug, a pat on the back, flashing a warm smile, kissing her..."  
><em>  
><em>Kissing her...<em>

Despite the embraces me and my Pokémon were giving her, May was still trembling.

_Kissing her..._

"May..." I said, loosening my grip on her a bit. She backup a little and looked up at me.

"I-I should get going..." she said quietly, turning around to leave.

_Kissing her..._

"Wait," I said. May stopped short as I laid a hand on her shoulder. I gently spun her around.

_Kissing her..._

"Sorry if I don't do this right... I'm still new to all this," I said. With that, I leaned down, and kissed her.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

My eyes went wide when Ash's lips met mine. Time seemed to slow down.

_Hold on_, I thought, _Dense McGee is actually kissing me_?

Ha, that rhymed...

Typically it was me kissing him, and that was normally just a quick peck on the lips. But this was totally different; it sent sparks of energy coursing through my body. The nervousness was suddenly washed away and replaced with confidence.

We broke apart, looking at each other for a minute. A smile stretched across my face.

"So..." Ash said, scratching the back of his head, "Did I do it right?"

I smiled and giggled, hugging him tightly. "I love you..." I told him, laying my head on his shoulder.

"I love you too, May," Ash replied, no stuttering, no hesitance... _He's growing up_.

I let go of him and gave him a smile. "Thank you," I said.

Ash smiled back. "Anytime," He replied.

I backed away from him and to the entrance if the field. For the first time since the Grand Festival started, I felt confident.

"... And May from Petalburg City!" the MC said, that was my cue.

"Now if I'll excuse me," I said, "I have a battle to win."

Ash pumped his fist. "That's the spirit! Show her what you're made of!"

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

I found Paul, Adam, Webb, Tim, Adrianna, and Jane all sitting together in the bleachers.

"Oh man," Jane said, "May against Dawn!"

"This is going to be so epic!" Tim said.

Adam looked around, scratching his head. "I can't shake the feeling the something's missing," he said as he glanced about.

"_Who missed me_?" Someone said in a singsong voice.

Adam sunk in his seat, "Oh dear Arceus..."

Harmonia scowled at Adam as she approached us. "What was that Meldeadend?"

"It's Melendez!" Adam corrected her.

"Oh..." Harmonia said, "Right... '_lol_'."

Paul sighed, sounding a bit annoyed. "Would you two shut up?" He asked, "The battle is about to begin."

I turned to the battle field, both May and Dawn where pulling out their Pokéballs.

"Here we go," Webb said.

May and Dawn nodded to each other, and tossed their Pokéballs into the air. On May's side of the battle field, Skitty and Glaceon appeared, on Dawn's side, Buneary and Piplup appeared.

Adrianna tilted her head. "A Skitty and a Glaceon? What strategy is May using?" she asked.

I folded my arms. "It's not a strategy," I said. May knelt down by her two Pokémon, seeming to give them a pep talk.

"Wow, May seems a lot calmer now," Webb said, "I wonder what caused her to get over her nervousness."

I was barely able to hold back a blush.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"Alright guys, this is the final step," I told my Pokémon. I looked up at Dawn, who was talking to her Pokémon as well. "Or leap..."

"Nyah!" Skitty said cheerfully, jumping up and down cutely.

"That's the spirit!" I said with a smile. I ruffled the both their fur and kissed their foreheads. "Now let's show Dawn what we're really made of!"

With a battle cry, Skitty and Glaceon leapt onto the field, taking a battle stance. Dawn's Piplup and Buneary did the same.

"Are both contestants ready?" The MC asked. Both Dawn and I nodded out heads. "In that case, begin!"

"Skitty, Double Slap Buneary! Glaceon, Ice Beam on Piplup!"

"Buneary! Use Bounce to dodge! Piplup, stop Ice Beam with Water Gun!"

Skitty dashed forward on her stubby legs and leapt into the air, she spun around to use Double Slap on Buneary, but the rabbit like Pokémon was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, Buneary fell from the sky and bounced on Skitty.

Glaceon threw her head back and sent an Ice Bean hurdling towards Piplup, who shot Water Gun to stop it. The Ice Beam collided with Water Gun and froze it solid.

"...!" Piplup fell over. The frozen Water Gun was stuck to his beak, and he couldn't hold up the weight of the ice.

"Now's our chance!" I exclaimed, "Iron Tail!"

"Glaceon leapt into the air, tail shimmering metallically. She flipped acrobatically and slammed her tail into Piplup.

"Use Peck to break that ice!" Dawn exclaimed, "Buneary! Distract Glaceon!"

Buneary jumped into the air, over Skitty and Piplup, landing in front of Glaceon.

"Bun!" Buneary exclaimed.

"Glaceon, Barrel Roll and Shadow Ball Piplup! Skitty, Tackle Buneary!" I exclaimed.

Glaceon rolled on the ground and attempted to fire a Shadow Ball at Piplup, but Buneary caught on and jumped in the way, taking the Shadow Ball, which had no effect on her due to her typing.

"Bun!" Buneary cried as Skitty Tackled her from behind, almost knocking her on top of Glaceon.

Piplup freed himself from the ice, shattering it into a hundred pieces. He leapt next to Buneary, taking a battle stance.

"Bubble Beam into the sky!" Dawn exlclaimed. Piplup nodded and threw his head back, firing tons of shiny bubbles into the sky. "Buneary, you know what to do!" Dawn said. Buneary nodded and also threw her head back as well.

Buneary fired an Ice Beam at the bubbles in the sky. "Oh boy..." I groaned. The bubbles froze and hardened, falling to the ground.

"Glaceon! Protect Skitty!" I exclaimed. I knew Glaceon could take the falling bubbles being an ice type, it was Skitty I was worried about. Glaceon pounced and got on top of Skitty, protecting her from the frozen bubbles, but taking hits herself.

"Let's use a combination of our own!" I exclaimed, "Double Blizzard!"

Skitty scurried out from under Glaceon and the two threw their heads back, firing Blizzard from their mouths. The two attacks collided, and spread out across the field. Layers of ice began to encrust everything around.

I shivered and rubbed my bare arms. "Good thing Gengar isn't here," I mumbled, "He would make it even colder."

Looking around, I saw both Buneary and Piplup where frozen in ice, but where attempting to escape as the ice cracked.

"Glaceon, Iron Tail on Piplup! Skitty, Assist on Buneary!" I exclaimed.

Glaceon gracefully skated on the ice towards Piplup. She twirled around and slammed her tail into Piplup, shattering the ice and sending him flying.

A ball of light appeared in Skitty's hand, she pointed and aimed at Buneary. Silver Wind fired out of the ball. The sharp, silvery blades slammed against the ice Buneary was trapped in and freed her, but stopped before she could be harmed.

"Break up the ice with Dizzy Punch!" Dawn told Buneary, who nodded and began slamming her fists into the ground. The ice cracked loudly and shattered, breaking up into thousands of pieces and flying about. Like broken pieces of a glass vase falling to the floor, the ice created a loud clatter as it bounced on the ground.

"Piplup! Use Bubble Beam on Skitty!" Dawn shouted.

"Glaceon! Protect Skitty with Mirror Coat!" I exclaimed.

As Piplup fired the Bubble Beam, Glaceon jumped in front of Skitty and performed Mirror Coat. The bubbles slammed into Glaceon and bounced off her, deflecting off her and back at Piplup, dishing out double the original damage.

"Piplup!" Piplup cried as he flew backwards from the impact.

"Skitty! Use Tackle on Buneary!" I exclaimed.

"Buneary! Bounce to dodge!"

Skitty dashed forward. But before she could land the blow, Buneary disappeared high in the sky.

"Look out, Skitty!" I exclaimed, expecting Buneary to try to land a blow on her. Surprisingly, Buneary went for Glaceon, slamming into her.

"Skitty, use Faint Attack!" I told Skitty. Skitty nodded and stepped forward to Buneary.

"Nyah?" Skitty asked, pointing up at the sky. Buneary looked in the direction Skitty pointed.

"**NYAH**!" Skitty exclaimed as she sent Buneary flying after smacking her hard with her tail.

"Piplup!" Dawn exclaimed, "Drill Peck!"

Piplup ran forward and leapt into the air, spiraling as his beak began to glow. He slammed into Glaceon and used Drill Peck in her, knocking her off her feet.

"Okay, Skitty, use Attract on Piplup!" I exclaimed.

Skitty approached Piplup and began to use Attract on him.

The crowd let out a long "Awww" as hearts appeared in Piplups eyes, he seemed frozen, unable to move.

"Keep it up Skitty! Glaceon! Iron Tail on Piplup!" I exclaimed.

Glaceon's tail shimmered and she slammed her tail against Piplup, sending him flying.

Piplup bounced on the ground several times, finally coming to stop on his stomach; the hearts had been replaced by spirals.

"Piplup is no longer able to battle!" a referee said.

Dawn sighed and returned her water type, before focusing on the battle again.

"Without the help of her Piplup, Dawn will have a hard time bringing May down," The MC said, "What tricks could she have up her sleeve?"

"You're doing great, you two!" I told my Pokémon.

"Don't give up, Buneary!" Dawn said.

"Bun!" Buneary exclaimed, taking a battle stance and glaring at my two Pokémon.

"Agility!" Dawn said. Buneary nodded and disappeared, reappearing at a random spot on the field.

"It'll be hard to hit her," I grumbled, "Skitty! Faint Attack!"

"Dizzy Punch!" Dawn exclaimed.

Buneary appeared before Skitty, preparing a Dizzy Punch, but Skitty put on a shocked expression and pointed at the sky again. Buneary stopped Dizzy Punch and look up in the direction Skitty was pointing.

Skitty smiled slyly before slamming into Buneary with her tail, sending her flying.

"Nyah-ha!" Skitty laughed.

Buneary let out a low growl and suddenly disappeared. "Skitty! Look out!" I exclaimed.

"Nyah?" She asked. Buneary suddenly appeared next to her and Dizzy Punched her in the stomach, sending her flying.

Swirls appeared over Skitty's eyes, showing she had been knocked out.

"Skitty is unable to battle," The referee announced.

I sighed and returned Skitty. "Great job," I told her, "Take a good, long rest."

"Great job, Buneary!" Dawn called out. Buneary smirked and took a battle stance, facing Glaceon.

"Don't get too confident," I said, "Glaceon, Dig!"

Glaceon began to furiously claw at the ground, and disappeared in a hole. "Use Bounce to dodge!" Dawn told Buneary.

Buneary quickly crouched down before leaping high into the sky. _Perfect_, I thought, "Glaceon, you know what to do!"

Glaceon popped out of a new hole, Buneary began to fall towards her. "Wait for it..." I said, Glaceon prepared herself. "Now!" I exclaimed.

At the last split second Glaceon leapt out of the hole, causing Buneary to miss and tumble into the tunnel underground.

"Blizzard into the hole!" I exclaimed. Glaceon leapt over to the hole and fired a powerful Blizzard attack into it. Shortly after, Buneary shot out of the hole Glaceon first dug, now trapped in Blizzard.

"Get out of there!" Dawn exclaimed. Buneary struggled and eventually escaped the Blizzard.

"Blizzard, once more!" I exclaimed.

"Make and ice wall!" Dawn said.

As Glaceon charged up, Buneary began to spin around, firing ice beam at the ground. A thick ice wall formed around her, completely surrounding the normal type.

Glaceon fired Blizzard at the ice wall, but it stayed up, protecting Buneary.

"Swift!" Dawn shouted. Shiny stars shot out of the shield Buneary was hiding in and came crashing into Glaceon, knocking her over.

"We have to break the ice shield!" I exclaimed, "Try Shadow Ball!"

Glaceon rose to her feet and fired a Shadow Ball at the ice, but the attack only cracked it.

"Swift again!" Dawn said. Buneary once again fired Swift out of the ice barrier and nailed Glaceon.

An idea came to mind. "Quick Attack at the ice, and hit it with Iron Tail!" I exclaimed. Glaceon nodded and dashed at the shield at top speed, leaping into the air at the last second and slamming her tail into the ice. The ice finally shattered and flew in every direction.

"Yes!" I exclaimed.

"Buneary, use Agility again!" Dawn exclaimed. Buneary began to disappear and reappeared around the field. "Dizzy Punch!" Dawn said.

"Use Quick Attack to dodge!" I exclaimed. Glaceon broke into a dash as Buneary tried to hit her. She attempted to disappear, reappeared, and hit Glaceon, but the ice type moved too quickly.

"Swift!" Dawn ordered. Buneary shot the attack at Glaceon, but no matter what she did, she couldn't avoid the attack.

Glaceon cried out in pain as the shiny stars collided into her, knocking her to the ground. _What do I do about Swift_? I asked myself, _It's going to finish her_...

"Don't fix what isn't broken," Dawn said, "Use Swift again!"

"Glaceon! Use Mirror Coat!" I ordered.

Glaceon began to glow and shine as she performed Mirror Coat; the stars from Swift hit her and bounced off, flying back at Buneary with double power. They brutally slammed into the normal type, uplifting tons of dust.

"Buneary!" Dawn exclaimed, "Are you alright?"

As the dust settled, the brown rabbit like Pokémon was revealed, still standing. "Bun... eary..." Buneary panted, she was breathing heavily and looked exhausted. Looking over at Glaceon, I could tell she wasn't feeling any better than Buneary.

This needs to end soon, I thought to myself.

"Glaceon, Tactic 2!" I exclaimed. Tactic 2 was a short string of moves, used to throw an opponent off before nailing them.

Glaceon threw her head back and fired a Shadow Ball at Buneary. The attack simply hit her and evaporated, having no effect on the normal type. Buneary pointed at Glaceon and began to laugh.

Exactly what she was supposed to do.

Glaceon then fired an Ice Beam at Buneary, knocking her backwards and stopping her laughter.

Tactic 2 only worked on Normal types, but it always did the job right.

"Buneary, stay focused!" Dawn scolded, "Dizzy Punch!"

"Quick Attack and then Hail!" I exclaimed.

Glaceon and Buneary charged at each other, Glaceon left a trail of light behind her as Buneary's fist began to glow. At the last second, Glaceon maneuvered to dodge Buneary before ramming into her side.

As Buneary tumbled to the ground, Glaceon aimed for the sky and shot a large ball into the air. The ball struck the clouds high above, which began to darken. Suddenly, pieces of ice began to fall from the sky, pelting everything in sight.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

"Ow!"

"Gah!"

"That hurts!"

"Ouch!"

"Make it stop!"

"Pika pika!"

We all did our bests to cover our heads with our arms as pieces of hail began to pelt us.

Paul growled. "Good move for May, bad for everyone else," he grumbled.

"Gen Gengar!" Gengar shouted hiding under my seat with Pikachu and Lucario.

"Hrrmmrmm," Lucario whimpered.

"Why didn't anyone bring umbrellas?" Jane asked.

"Maybe you should have sold those instead!" Webb replied.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

I grimaced as I covered my head with my arms, which were being pelted by the hail.

_I should have thought this through better_, I thought to myself. I never planned on actually using Hail; I should have brought an umbrella just in case.

Buneary laid on her stomach and covered her face with her hands as the ice fell, Dawn was in a similar position to mine. Glaceon was the only one not being affected by the falling hail.

"Glaceon!" I shouted over the loud rattling of the falling hail, "Ice Beam!"

With STAB and the ice type boost from Hail, Glaceon's Ice Beam power was much more immense.

"Bun!" Buneary cried as she was flipped onto her back.

"Buneary! Ice Beam of your own!" Dawn exclaimed. Buneary got up and fired an Ice Beam at Glaceon, knocking her off her feet.

***BEEEEEEEEEEEP!***

"Well, it looks like the time is up!" The MC shouted into the microphone, trying to overpower the hail. "Let's look and see who the winner is!"

Ash's POV

We heard the timer blare, bring the battle to a screeching halt.

"Well, it looks like the time is up!" The MC said, "Let's look and see who the winner is!"

I glanced at May and noticed she was refusing to look at the score board, as was Dawn.

"The winner is..."

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah... I'm evil.<strong>

**Bah derp, DAH!**

**I thought I would have a paragraph that would hint who won, but then I was like "Naaaahhh."**

**So, who do you want to win? Dawn or May?**

**Last time I asked you guys that, I got a 100% vote for May. NOBODY wanted Dawn to win. Now that Dawn isn't the "antagonist" (aka, the bad guy) anymore, has anyone's opinion changed?**

**After I posted that one contest where Dawn won, I laughed so hard reading everyone's rage reviews.**

**Anyways, I'm going to go ahead and pound this into your skulls again. If you want to see OC's in my next big Fanfiction, go to my profile page and vote. (The poll is at the top of the page)**

**So how about all this SOPA and PIPA stuff? Craziness, what would happen to fanfiction if they passed? Would I lose all those hours or work I put into writing? Scary stuff right there…**

**Don't forget to review, I love reviews as much as I love chicken nuggets (almost) :P**

**The Shiny Gengar**


	33. Chapter 33: Life is Cruel

**Chapter 33: Life is Cruel**

* * *

><p><strong>Hi, I would write an author's note here, but I don't want to give anything away.<strong>

**I don't own Pokémon**

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

The buzzer rang, long and loudly. I couldn't help but grimace at the startling and obnoxious noise. Nervousness quickly swelled up inside me again, as I dreading the results. I shut my eyes tightly, using all self control not to look at the score board. It probably wouldn't even matter, the points were always so close, it was hard to tell who would win. I also continued to hold my arms over my head, blocking the hail from hitting my head, bruising my arms.

"The winner is..." The MC began, stopping for a dramatic pause. For the love of Arceus, just say who won.

…

I quickly glanced at Dawn, who also kept her eyes averted from the scoreboard.

…

"... Dawn, from Twinleaf Town!" the MC finally said.

My heart sunk... She had beaten me... Again...

I saw Dawn's face light up as she squealed for joy. She had finally achieved her dream. I glanced at the scoreboard, my points were just below hers... If she hadn't landed that last attack before the timer had gone off, I could have won.

"G-Glace-eon..." Glaceon said sadly, rubbing up against my leg. Not caring about the hail hitting me anymore, I crouched down and uncovered my head. A tear streaked down my cheek as I stroked her cold fur.

"I-I'm sorry..." I whispered to her, hugging her sadly. We sat there a few minutes, hugging each other.

I jumped slightly as I felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around me from behind. I craned my neck and saw Ash hugging me.

"I-I failed..." I stammered, ashamed of myself, maneuvering around and hugging him, crying as my head rested on his shoulder.

"You did your best," Ash said comfortingly, rubbing my back. "And it was amazing."

I briefly looked over Ash and saw Pikachu, Gengar, Lucario, Harmonia, Adrianna, and Webb standing off in the distance, sadly looking at me.

I ignored the hail that hit me as I hugged Ash, squeezing him as tightly as I could.

"I just don't get it..." I mumbled, "What did I do wrong? Why did I lose?"

Ash looked at me sadly. "You didn't do anything wrong, May. You believed in your Pokémon, and that's what matters," he said.

I continued to cry as he held me, doing his best to make me feel better.

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

"And the winner is... Dawn, from Twinleaf Town!"

My jaw dropped and lips curled into a smile. I looked up at the score board and saw that my points were slightly higher than May.

"YES!" I squealed in disbelief. "Buneary... We did it! We did it!"

Buneary ran at me and leapt into the air, hugging me tightly. I happily laughed and hugged her back, ignoring the hail that pelted my forehead.

"I don't believe it!" I exclaimed. It had taken three grand festivals, one in Sinnoh, one in Hoenn, and one in Johto, but I had finally won.

"You did it!" Jane exclaimed, running up and hugging me, almost knocking me over.

"Awesome battle, Dawn!" Tim said excitedly approaching me.

Adam looked off in the distance with a sad expression. Following his gaze, I saw May sadly hugging Ash, who was attempting to comfort her.

I glanced up at the scoreboard. _She was so close_, I thought. I felt sympathy towards May, taking note to talk to her later.

I quickly forgot May when I saw Paul approaching; he had a smile on his face for once. I let go of Jane and rushed past Tim and Adam, running up to Paul and hugging him tightly.

"Congratulations," Paul said as he hugged me back, "You're officially the top coordinator."

I kissed him on the lips. "Thanks for the help," I thanked him, "I never would have made it this far without you."

I sighed happily, laying my head on his shoulder. After all those battles, trials, and even heartbreak, I finally achieved my dream.

"Your mother is going to be proud," Paul said.

I smiled at the thought, imagining her excitement when she heard about my victory. "She sure will be," I said.

"Um... Excuse me..." we heard over the speakers. The entire stadium fell silent as the MC's flustered voice rang through the air. "This is a bit embarrassing..."

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"Um... Excuse me... This is a bit embarrassing..."

Ash and I exchanged confused glances. The MC didn't sound like her normal, perky, excited self.

"There's been a bit of a mistake..." The MC said, we heard her sigh before continuing. "There was a glitch in the system, so points were never counted for the use of Hail..."

Ash and I went wide eyed. "I'm sorry Dawn... But you actually didn't win the match," The MC said, suddenly, Dawn's points on the score board took a dive as they were deducted from Hail. "This year's regional top coordinator is... May, from Petalburg City!"

My jaw dropped as my picture on the screen expanded and labeled me as the victor. "A-A-Ash..." I stammered in disbelief.

A huge smile grew on his face. "May! You did it!" he exclaimed excitedly.

I let go of Ash and backed up, still staring at the scoreboard. Suddenly, I broke into a run and tackled Ash to the ground, laughing happily and giving him a kiss. The clouds that were raining hail began to disperse, and Hail stopped falling from the sky. The crowd erupted into applause as Ash and I kissed.

We broke and smiled at each other and a got off him, allowing him to stand up.

"**GENGAR**!"

A purple blur raced at me and slammed into my stomach, sending me flying backwards and onto my back. Looking up I saw an excited Gengar on top of me, a huge grin on his face. "Gengar!" He exclaimed again, happily hugging me.

"ChuChuPi!" Pikachu exclaimed, also hopping over to me. With a big smile, he rubbed his cheek up against mine.

"Glai!" Glaceon exclaimed, running up to me and getting on top of me as well.

I heard a snap and saw a flash of light; Skitty popped out of her Pokéball and looked at me excitedly. "Nyah!" She exclaimed happily.

With a laugh, I embraced the four Pokémon, hugging them tightly.

"_Hrmm_."

I looked up and saw Lucario standing over me; he had a grin on his face. He extended out his hand, which I grabbed. He lifted me back to my feet before hugging me happily. He let go of me and suddenly grew serious. He walked by me towards Dawn, who was staring at the scoreboard in disbelief.

_Poor Dawn_, I thought, _what a way to lose... Thinking you were the victor before finding out the there was a glitch.  
><em>  
>"You totally were awesome out there!"<p>

I turned around and saw Webb, Adrianna, and Harmonia walk up to me.

"What a way to win," Harmonia said, "Thinking you lost until finding out there was a glitch."

"Those moves Glaceon used were so beautiful!" Adrianna said, stroking the ice type's head.

"Yeah!" Webb said, crouching next to Skitty, "And Skitty was amazing as well! What a team!"

"I learned so much from this battle," Adrianna said, "For starters, Hail is awesome!"

Webb moaned and rubbed his head. "Yeah... But make sure to bring an umbrella..." he groaned.

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

"There's been a bit of a mistake... There was a glitch in the system, so points were never counted for the use of hail..." The MC said.

_Oh no_! I thought! _Oh no_!_ Oh no_!_ Oh no_!

"I'm sorry Dawn... But you actually didn't win the match," The MC said, my points on the score board took a steep dive as they were deducted from Hail. "This year's regional top coordinator is... May, from Petalburg City!"

...

"Dawn..." Paul said.

I didn't move I just stated at the scoreboard, not believing what had just happened.

"Dawn?" Jane asked.

My bottom lip quivered, my eyes began to water.

"_Hrmm_."

I and saw Lucario standing before me, sadness in his eyes. Upon reflex, I leaned forward and hugged the fighting/steel type tightly.

"Dawn... I'm so sorry," Paul said sadly. I let go of Lucario and dashed off, paying no heed to Paul, Jane, Tim, or Adam.

"Dawn!" Paul called out, but I ignored him, I just wanted to be alone.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"Go away!" Dawn shouted from the other side of the door. We stood outside our hotel room, Dawn had locked the door.

"Dawn, come out," Ash asked, "Let's talk..."

"I don't want to talk!" Dawn answered, "I want to be alone."

"Dawn's I understand what you're going through, would you let me in?" Paul asked.

"No!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Gengar?" Gengar asked, simply floating through the door. We heard Dawn shout angrily before Gengar flew back out, eyes wide as if he had seen a ghost...

... Wait a minute...

"Maybe we should just give her some time," Paul said.

I pulled out a card key. "I'll try to talk to her," I said.

Ash looked at me oddly. "Why didn't you use that earlier?" he asked.

I shrugged, "I don't know." I said. I stuck the card key in and turned the knob, I tried to push the door open but it wouldn't budge.

"There's something in the way of the door," I announced, "Help me open it."

Ash, Paul, Lucario, and I all put our full weight on the door, using all our strength to open it. We managed to open it up enough for me to squeeze through. Taking a deep breath, I slipped through the crack, expecting to find an angry Dawn, but she was nowhere to be seen. There was a dresser in front of the door, and I felt a draft coming from the window, which was open.

"Great..." I grumbled. We were on the bottom floor, so Dawn would have had no problem hopping out the window, running to who knows where.

"Lucario!" I shouted. A few seconds later, Ash's fighting type slipped through the door and into the room, surprised to find Dawn wasn't there.

"Can you sense where Dawn is?" I asked him, "I know your aura can allow you to do that."

Lucario nodded and closed his eyes; the strange black things hanging behind his ears were lifted into the air.

...

After a few moments, his eyes snapped open and he hopped out of the window, darting in the direction Dawn must have gone.

"Wait up!" I exclaimed as I chased after him. I climbed out the window and saw Lucario waiting for me a several yards away. I raced over to him, "Let's go," I told him. He grabbed my hand and broke into a run at top speed; it took all my energy to not tumble over.

Suddenly, Lucario came to a halt causing me to topple forward.

"OOF!" I grunted as I hit the ground. Lucario quickly knelt down and helped me up. I brushed the leaves and grass off my clothes and looked around, I saw Dawn sitting on the edge of a cliff gazing at the vast region of Johto. I signaled for Lucario to stay put, and stepped toward her. "Hey," I said. Dawn twisted around and scowled.

"Can't you guys take a hint?" She asked, turned back to her normal position. "I just want to be alone!"

I sighed and sat down next to her. "Dawn, now is not the time to be alone," I told her, "This is when you need your friends the most."

Dawn sniffed and wiped her nose. "No, I think I want to be alone," she said.

I scooted closer to her, wrapping an arm around her. "Dawn, let's at least talk," I said, "_please_?"

Dawn looked at me for a moment, blinking away a tear. "Ugh, fine," she said.

...

"Well?" She asked.

I thought moment, knowing I need to choose my words wisely. "Listen, I'm really sorry about your loss," I told her.

She snickered, "Right, easy for you to say," she grumbled.

"But I'm sorry about how it turned out," I began, "When you thought you had won."

Dawn buried her face in her hands. "Ugh, that was the worst," she moaned, "I felt like I've been crushed by a Snorlax when they announced the glitch."

I sighed and nodded. "Yeah, that was cruel," I said.

Dawn sighed as well, shaking her head. "Life is cruel," she said, "I've gotten runner up in Sinnoh, Hoenn, and Johto."

I smiled. "But that's great!" I told her, "I didn't even reach runner up until my first time through Johto."

Dawn shook her. "But you don't realize what it's like not to make progress," she said, "I feel like I'm running as fast as I can, but I'm not getting anywhere."

I thought about it for a minute. In every Grand Festival I had participated in, I had always gone up a position each time. Despite Dawn starting so high, she never gained anymore ground, it was like running on a treadmill.

"I think I see where you're coming from," I told her, "But you'll get better eventually."

"Eventually," Dawn repeated, "Until when? When I'm thirty?"

I patted her back. "You just got to keep trying," I said with a smile, "I mean, look at Ash, he's lost five leagues, but he hasn't given up."

Dawn thought for a while. "Yeah, I-I guess you're right," she said, sniffing again.

"You should be proud of your Pokémon for performing so well," I said, "Runner up is nothing to be ashamed of."

Dawn snickered again. "You can talk, you looked pretty upset when you thought you lost," she said.

I was about to protest, but she did have a point. "Well... " I tried to say.

Dawn chuckled and waved it off. "It doesn't matter, I see what you're saying," she said, "I just need to try a bit harder, and not get over confident next time."

I smiled. "That's the spirit," I said.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

It was time for the award ceremony, May would go up on stage and receive her well deserved trophy, come down, and then there would a late night party, with food.

Ah... Food...

That's what kept me bouncing on my toes all evening, all the food I would eat after the ceremony. But May was taking her sweet time in the dressing room, not that it mattered, the ceremony didn't start for another thirty minutes, but I was getting bored.

"This bow goes well with the dress, but this on matches your eyes... Which do you prefer?" Adrianna asked.

That was the kind of stuff that drove me crazy, girls and their accessories. Why even bother? All I had was my hat and I was good to go. Why do girls need necklaces, brackets, ear rings, and bows?

May tapped her chin as she examined the two bows. "Hmm, I don't know, what do you think, Ash?"

Oh dear Arceus.

"Gee, I don't know, May," I said, not even looking at the two bows "I'm not very good with that stuff."

…

"Let's just go with the one that goes with the dress," Adrianna suggested, placing the bow in May's hair.

"Okay, know which necklace should we use?"

I closed my eyes and tried to at least power nap, those two girls went on for twenty minutes trying to figure out what necklace to wear.

"I think that'll do it!" Adrianna said confidently.

I heard May get up from her seat. "How do I look?" She asked.

"Like royalty," Adrianna said.

"Aw, thank you," she said, turning to me, "Ash, how do you think I look?"

"Like royalty..." I mumbled, not even opening my eyes.

May sighed. "Ash, at least pretend to look at the dress before answering," she said.

I sighed and opened an eye, looking at May's dress. My eye went wide as I examined her from head to toe. May smiled as she saw me inspect her.

"Well?" She asked.

"..." I couldn't really say anything; much less take my eyes off her. "N-nice..." I stammered.

May giggled and blushed. "I'm glad you like it," she said, she walked over to me and pecked me on the lips before walking out of the dressing room.

"Earth to Ash, come in, Ash," Adrianna said, waving her hand in front of my blank face.

I shook my head and snapped myself out of my trance. "Eh?" I asked.

Adrianna simply chuckled and walked out of the dressing room as well. Figuring I didn't have anything to do in there I followed her out, finding Pikachu, Gengar, and Lucario lying around in the hallways. When they saw me, they quickly rose to their feet and followed me down the hall. We walked out onto the field where May and Dawn had battled earlier that day, finding Dawn and Paul already out there with a few others.

After Dawn and May had talked, Dawn seemed much better and was willing to accept the fact she lost. In fact, her determination rose and she quickly returned to her perky self, May must have really lifted her spirits.

The field quickly began to fill before the award ceremony went underway. The MC walked up to the microphone and called May up. I smiled and clapped as May walked up the steps onto the stage. The crowd roared with applause, even Dawn was clapping.

"May, I'm proud to announce you as the new regional top coordinator!" The MC said, handing May the heavy trophy, "Is there anything you would like to say?"

The crowd fell silent as the MC backed away from the microphone. May set down her trophy and stepped up, looking a little nervous.

…

"Um..." She began, her voice echoed through the speakers.

"I'd like... to thank everyone... For their support..." She said, rocking on her feet. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, collecting herself.

...

"I'd like to thank my family for always being there for me," she said, her conference rising with every word. "And Dawn, for such a great battle."

The crowd clapped as I patted Dawn on the back. "I'd also like to thank Drew, Solidad... And even Harley, none who are here right now, but may be watching," May continued, "For being such great rivals and always pushing me forward..."

She took another deep breath before continuing. "And thank you, Paul... For uh... Er... Being there... I guess..." May said, Paul chuckled and nodded to her.

May smiled and laughed, "Thank you Pikachu, for being such a pal, Lucario, for always doing your best, it was so much fun watching you grow, and Gengar, for being a clown and great battler, you always make me smile and brighten my day." Gengar, Lucario, and Pikachu blushed and scratched the back of their heads.

"And last, but not least," May said, "Thanks Ash... For being such a great supporter, mentor, and a dense, yet still amazing boyfriend."

…

"Hold up," I heard Adam's voice ring through the air. "You and Ash are together?"

Dawn, Paul, and I exchanged glances before bursting into laughter.

"Adam, has anyone ever told you that you're not very observant?" Harmonia asked.

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

Ash and May's appetite never ceased to amaze me. Just when you think that they would put down their final plate and be done, they would get up and come back with another heaping pile of food.

Paul was equally as impressed. He sat there with a slack jaw watching May and Ash eat. He leaned over and whispered into my ear, "I didn't know females could eat such great portions..."

"What was that?" May asked, shooting him a glare.

"Uh, nothing," Paul said, averting his eyes. I stifled a laugh.

"Dawn! What did he say?" May demanded.

I giggled, "He said you eat too much."

Paul's eyes went wide. "I did not! You're twisting my words!"

But it was too late, May had already lunged over the table and knocked him off his seat.

I was watching May try to take down Paul when I heard a voice behind me.

"Excuse me, but I think you owe me a rematch."

I twisted around and saw Tim standing there, a smile on his face. I smirked, "Oh yeah, it's so on!" I told him.

May got off Paul, whom had been pinned to the ground and got back to her feet. "Another battle? Cool!" she said.

"Hey! I want a rematch too!" We heard someone shout.

Jane came running over to me, Pokéball already in hand. "Let's battle!"

Tim scowled and crossed his arms. "I asked first!"

Tim and Jane began to argue about who would battle first, when Ash spoke up.

"Why don't you just make it a tag battle," Ash interrupted his mouth full of food.

...

"That's... Not a bad idea," I said, scratching my head. "But I need a partner..."

I turn to Paul, who was getting up off the ground, brushing himself off. "Paul, you and I against Tim and Jane?" I asked.

Paul examined the two challengers before nodded. "We're not going to battle here though, right?" he asked.

I laughed and grabbed his hand, "Of course not, silly." with that I dragged him out of the dinner hall, and the four of us walked out into a more open field.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

I noticed Ash's gaze follow Dawn, Paul, Jane, and Tim as they walked away. "Do you want to go watch?" I asked him.

He looked at me. "Do you?" he asked. I looked at the heaping pile of empty plates on the table, and then glanced at the long line of tables covered with food. "Nah," I said.

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

"Mamoswine! Spotlight!"

"Luxray! Deal the damage!"

"Electivire! I need your assistance!"

"Yuki! Battle time!"

Our Pokémon came out of their Pokéballs and appeared on the battle field. The Pokémon Jane referred to as "Yuki" was actually a Froslass.

Paul and I exchanged glances, I could tell he and I were thinking the same thing. "Electivire! Jump!" He exclaimed.

"Mamoswine! Earthquake!" I exclaimed.

Electivire jump into the air as Mamoswine began to pound the ground, shaking it violently.

"Oh boy..." Tim gasped, "They got sync."

"Froslass!" Jane exclaimed, "Use Ice Beam on Electivire!"

Froslass fired the Ice Beam at Electivire while he was still suspended in the air. Unable to avoid the attack, Ice Beam struck him and he was encrusted with a thick layer of ice.

"Uh ho," Paul grumbled as the block of ice hit the ground. "Of all the lousy luck... Electivire, get out of there!"

"Luxray, use Super Power!" Tim exclaimed. Luxury began to glow and charged at the frozen Electivire.

"Stop him!" I exclaimed to Mamoswine, who charged forward and rammed into Luxray, cutting the attack short.

"Take Down on the ice!" I said. Mamoswine charged at the ice and slammed into it, shattering it and freeing Electivire.

"Brick Break!" Paul exclaimed.

Slamming into the ice had put Mamoswine into a momentary daze, leaving him open for attack. Luckily Electivire maneuvered around him and use Brick Break on Luxray, who was attempting to attack.

"Hypnosis!" Jane said. Froslass sent out yellow rings at Mamoswine, putting him to sleep.

"Great..." I grumbled.

"Don't worry, I got this," Paul assured me.

"Use Thunder, Luxray!" Tim ordered

"Yuki, use Ice Beam!" Jane commanded.

"Protect!" Paul exclaimed.

Electivire surrounded himself and Mamoswine in a green dome that protected them both from the incoming Ice and Electric attacks, which harmlessly bounced off.

"Thunder, again!" Tim exclaimed.

"Protect!" Paul shouted again. But the Protect failed, and left Electivire open for attack. Thunder hit Electivire head on, but he stood his ground.

"Eh, no matter," Paul said, "in fact, I should thank you."

Tim tilted his head, "why?" he asked.

"Well, even though Electivire took a bit of damage, his ability is Motor Drive, so he just got a free speed boost," Paul explained.

"Why the heck did you hit it with an Electric attack?" Jane exclaimed.

Tim sweat dropped, "I didn't know that would happen..."

"Whatever," Jane grumbled, "Ominous Wind!"

Froslass released a spooky, purple wind that hit both Mamoswine and Electivire. Luckily, the attack awoke Mamoswine and he quickly rose to his feet.

"Thunder Punch!" Paul exclaimed.

With his fist sparking, Electivire dashed at Froslass at top speed, with a flash, he slammed his fist into her and sent her flying backwards. With a thud, Froslass hit the ground, but didn't get back up.

"Um... I think she's knocked out," Tim observed.

Jane walked over to her Pokémon, who was indeed knocked out. She sighed and returned her to her Pokéball. "Oh well, it was fun while it lasted," she said. She thanked Froslass for battling and walked back over to Tim, plopping herself down in the soft grass.

"Good luck," She said.

Tim gulped and nodded, turning back to the battle. "Substitue!" he exclaimed.

Suddenly, Luxray duplicated itself. "Head Butt!" Tim ordered. Both Luxrays began to charge forward.

Electivire tried to stop them, but was only fast enough to attack one, which was unfortunately the fake one. The real Luxray slammed into Electivire, knocking him backwards.

"Body Slam!" I exclaimed, hoping to buy Electivire some time to recover. Mamoswine crashed into Luxray, sending him flying backwards.

Luxray rose to his feet as Electivire got back up. "Super Power!" Tim exclaimed.

Luxray once again began to glow and dashed at Mamoswine at top speed. Mamoswine was too slow though, and couldn't dodge.

"Block it!" Paul exclaimed. Electivire leapt in front of Mamoswine, taking the Super Power. Luxray slammed into him and sent him sailing over Mamoswine and into the ground, knocked out.

...

Paul sighed and walked over Electivire, pulling out his Pokémon. "Good job," Paul murmured as returned the Pokémon.

He walked back over to me, I just stood there stupidly. "Y-You didn't have to do that..." I stammered.

Paul shrugged. "Sure I did, you were the one originally challenged," He said, "It's all you now, show him what you got."

I smiled and kissed him before turning back to the battle. "Mamoswine! Earthquake!"

"Jump, Luxray!" Tim ordered. The electric type leapt into the air, avoiding taking damage from the shaking ground. "Iron Tail!" he said.

Luxray's tail began to shimmer as he charged forward at Mamoswine. "Stop it with a Body Slam!" I told Mamoswine.

He nodded and charged at Luxray, at the last second he swung his head as to smack Luxray with his tusks. The electric type's steel attack came to a stop as he stumbled to the side.

"Lux... Ray..." Luxray groaned as he rose to his feet.

"You doing okay, Luxray?" Tim asked, Luxray nodded in response. "Okay, then use Crunch!"

Luxray leapt into the air and pounced on Mamoswine, biting him hard.

"Shake him off!" I exclaimed. Mamoswine began to spin around the shake his head about wildly, frantically trying to get Luxray off.

"Mamoswine!" He shouted, rolling on the ground, slamming Luxray into the dirt. The two Pokémon quickly rose back to their feet and glared at each other.

"Ice Beam at the ground!" I exclaimed.

Mamoswine nodded and fired Ice Beam at the ground, coating it with a thick layer of ice.

"Great! Now use Earthquake!" I said.

With the slippery ice all over the ground Luxray slipped and lost his footing, unable to avoid the Earthquake attack.

When the ground finally stopped shaking, Luxray slowly rose to his feet; he quivered and shook as he struggled to stand. Suddenly, he collapsed and fell forward, knocked out.

"Aw man!" Jane exclaimed.

Tim walked over to Luxray and returned him, letting him have a rest. I congratulated Mamoswine on the job well done before returning him for a rest as well.

Paul and I walked over the Tim and Jane, shaking their hands. "Great battle," Tim said.

"Yeah, you guys really sync well," Jane admitted.

I blushed and smiled at Paul. "Well, that's to be expected, right?"

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

Now that the Grand Festival was finally over, it was time to part ways with our new friends. Leaving was always bittersweet like that, but it happened.

"I can't believe the Grand Festival is already over," Harmonia said sadly.

Ash let out sigh and nodded. "Yeah, it sure flew by," he agreed.

Adrianna stuck out her hand. "It was great working with you, May," she said.

I smiled and shook it, nodding. "Yeah, thanks for all your help," I told her.

Jane on the other hand, seemed really excited. "Now that this festival is over, I can finally get my money and go back to battling!" she exclaimed happily.

Ash pumped his fist. "That's the spirit!" He said, smiling warmly.

Tim and Dawn shook hands, both smiling sadly to each other. "Thanks for those awesome battles... Even if I did lose," Tim said, "But next time I see you, I'm going to beat you!"

Dawn laughed and grinned. "Oh, we'll see about that!" she said.

Paul walked over to them with a smirk. "Try to keep your temper under control too," he suggested, causing Tim to roll his eyes.

I walked over to Webb who had been standing behind everyone, rocking on his feet. I smiled sadly to him. "Sorry about the whole watch thing," I said.

Webb smiled back and laughed. "Eh, you were just trying to save my neck."

"You deserved it," Jane stated.

"Shut up," Webb retorted. He sighed and looked back at me. "We should battle again someday, when there aren't any watches or comedic MCs."

I nodded in agreement. "Totally," I assured him.

Dawn walked over to Adam, who had been standing awkwardly a little bit away. They stood and looked at each other for a moment.

"Hi," Adam said.

"Hi," Dawn replied.

...

"Can I help y-" Adam was cut off by a bear hug delivered by Dawn, almost knocking him over.

"Try to stay out of trouble," Dawn told Adam.

He snorted. "Ha ha, very funny," he said.

Dawn let go of him and back away, standing next to Paul.

With a final wave and goodbye, we began to walk down the road back to Blackthorn City.

"So, what will we do next?" Dawn asked as we walked down the route.

Ash smiled and pumped his fist. "I find the final frontier brain, and get the last print!" he said excitedly.

I looked around, something was missing. "Hey, where's Gengar?"

Suddenly, the ghost type appeared before us, wearing a fancy top hat.

"**GENGAR! GIVE ME BACK MY HAT**!" Webb exclaimed angrily from off in the distance.

* * *

><p><strong>If this story had "arcs" I would say this was the end of one, the end of the Grand Festival and the end of the OCs. I must say, I really enjoyed using them all, thanks to everyone who submitted them.<strong>

**Yep, I'm relieved that the Grand Festival is over, like I've said before, contests aren't my favorite thing to write... And this was just... Just...**

**Oh, and thanks for responding to my "who should win," thing. Again, everyone voted for May (Well Beastmode was neutral, but still.)**

**And then I decided to be evil and make you guys think Dawn won :D I wonder how many readers I lost because of that stunt :P**

**After I read through this chapter I second time, I realized how cruel I was being to Dawn...**

**But oh how I love throwing people off... It like a hobby... But it's not...**

**Don't forget to leave me a review! Because... Um... Something... Uh... I'll love you forever if you do. :D**

**And for the final time, this is the last week the "Should I use OC's in my next big Fanfiction" Poll will be up. So to everyone who's been putting it off, act now! Vote! Bacon!**

**Yep... It's late...**

**Until next time,**  
><strong>The Shiny Gengar<strong>


	34. Chapter 34: Great Scotts!

**Chapter 34: Great Scotts!**

* * *

><p><strong>So after I did a little research, I read that Ash supposedly started his journey when he was ten years, ten months, and ten days old. That means that (if time actually made sense in the anime) everything that has taken place thus far has occurred in less than two months, Which doesn't make any sense at all, but then again, Brock seems to be able to carry an entire camping site in his backpack...<strong>

**And Team Rocket never dies...**

**And Pikachu isn't at level over 9000...**

**And Brock never dies from taking so many Poison Jabs...**

**And Dawn was somehow better at contests than May...**

**And Gengars don't appear enough...**

**I don't own Pokémon**

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"Ugh, my feet hurt..." I whined. We were making our way back to Blackthorn City to hopefully figure out where the next and final Frontier Facility was.

"I told you before," Ash began, "I'll give you a piggyback ride. I mean, look at Dawn."

Dawn was having a good ol' time riding on Paul's back, he didn't seem to mind at the moment, but he would probably start complaining eventually. "Yeah, May," Dawn said, "It's fun!"

I sighed, my feet did hurt, but I was a top coordinator now. I felt I had to act like one; I didn't want to rely on others for my transportation. "No, it's fine," I assured them again, wincing as my sore foot hit the ground. Ash was walking backwards and giving me a "yeah right" kind of look. I sighed and looked away.

"Ow!" Dawn exclaimed had her head collided with a branch, "Watch where you're going, crazy person!"

Paul smirked and stifled a laugh. I quietly groaned as the pain from my sore feet began to worsen.

Suddenly I bumped into Ash, who had stopped walking. He quickly reached behind and grabbed me, lifting me up onto his back.

"Ash Ketchum! Put me down!" I exclaimed, flailing around. Ash laughed and held onto me tightly as I struggled to get back down. I yelped as I began to tumble backwards, almost causing Ash to lose his balance, but thanks to Lucario's support and Gengar's Confusion, he regained to footing.

I realized that it probably wasn't a good idea to try to get down, or I would fall on my face. "Ash, please put me down," I told him.

Ash shook his head and continued to walk. "Nah, I tired of listening to you complain," he said with a laughed.

"I promise I won't complain," I said, lowering my head down so that he could see it, and puckered out my bottom lip.

"I don't get it, May," Ash began, "What's the big deal?"

"Pika Pikachu?" Pikachu asked.

"Maybe she's afraid of heights," Paul suggested.

I shook my head, "No... It's just... I'm a top coordinator now..." I said, "I need to act like one..."

Ash laughed again, "So you can't have fun anymore?" he asked.

I shook my head again. "No! You wouldn't understand, you haven't won any championships," I told him.

...

"Ouch," Paul said, shaking his head.

I gasped, realizing what I had said. "Ash, I'm sorry!" I began, "I didn't mean it like that!

Ash sighed, adjusting me into a more comfortable position, not really saying anything.

"Ash?" I asked, resting my head on his shoulder and looking at him. He glanced at me and smiled slightly.

"I'll forgive you if we make a deal," he said slyly.

I gulped wondering what I was getting myself into. "Um okay..." I quietly replied.

"You can't walk for the rest of the trip to Blackthorn," he said.

...

"Seems like a good deal to me," Dawn said, ducking under another low branch.

I sighed and thought for a minute. "Okay, deal," I agreed, "but no running."

Ash scowled, "dang it!" he pouted. I giggled and held onto him tighter, laying my head on his shoulder.

"And you better not drop me," I warned him. Ash chuckled and nodded.

I didn't mind riding Ash; it wasn't like there was anyone around except for me, him, his Pokémon, Dawn, and Paul. In fact, I began to enjoy the ride; it was like giving him a really long hug... Except... He was moving.

At one point I almost fell asleep and began to tumble backwards, but Ash yelped and Gengar caught me with Confusion again.

"Try to stay awake," Ash said, I took a deep breath and unwrapped my arms, which had been around his neck. I stretched and rolled my shoulders, blinking a few times.

"Are we there yet?" I asked.

Ash shook his head. "Nope, not yet," he said, "look out."

I ducked my head and avoided a low branch, which I would have hit if not for Ash's warning. I adjusted myself a little, noting a slight discomfort in my leg.

"You two are going to have major pins and needle issues when this is all over," Paul said.

Dawn lifted a brow, "pins and needles?"

Paul shrugged, "You know, that pain you get when blood rushes into a certain part of your body," he explained, "in this case, your legs and feet."

I grimaced, Paul was right, when Ash would set me down, it would hurt. The thought caused me to shiver, and I wrapped my arms around Ash again, not wanting to get back down.

"Hey! There's Blackthorn City!" Dawn exclaimed, pointing ahead.

Indeed, the city could now be seen up ahead, but it could not compare to its former glory. The city was still suffering from the attack of Team Rocket. Although, even though we were many miles away, I could see cranes, tractors, and other construction equipment all hard at work.

A sudden shadow shot across the ground and disappeared, I looked up at the sky but saw nothing, everything was perfectly normal.

A trainer walked by, looking at us all. I blushed and quickly buried my face in the crook of Ash's neck, concealing my face. After a few seconds I asked, "Is he gone?"

I felt Ash nod, "Yeah, he passed by."

I removed my face from Ash's neck and saw that the trainer was indeed walking away, no longer facing us. "I'm sorry, Ash," I said, "It's not that I'm ashamed of you or anything, it's just-"

"I understand," Ash interrupted, "I wouldn't be caught dead riding _you_."

He, Dawn, and Paul laughed as I playfully bashed his head.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

After a short while, we reached the entrance to Blackthorn City stood before us. The damaged and slightly burnt gate did not radiate the usual appeal and magnificence that it was normally supposed to. It looked like it would topple over or break at any moment.

"Ready to get down?" Ash asked.

I nodded slightly, even though it might have been a bit embarrassing, I had enjoyed this experience with Ash, and was sad that it was over. He let go of me, allowing me to get down, and after giving him one, final squeeze, I let go of him and stood on my own two feet.

As my soles hit a soft soil, it felt as if I was stepping onto a bed of sharp nails. Blood quickly rushed into both my legs, sending the painful sensation through them as well. I wobbled a little and grabbed Ash's shoulder for support, groaning as I waited for the pain to subside. Dawn got off of Paul as well, obviously suffering from the same pains as I was. Paul and Ash rolled their shoulders and shook their arms and hands as they were relieved from holding us up.

Ash twisted his torso, cringing as his spine let out a loud crack. "Ow," he said flatly, returning to his normal position. I smiled a little and spun him around, beginning to message his shoulders. He let out a relieved sigh as I pushed at his back.

I turned when I heard a similar crack come from Paul, who had also twisted his spine. "Geez," He said, Dawn attempted to message his shoulders as well, but didn't know how to do it right. Paul grunted in pain and told Dawn to stop.

I laughed and looked at him. "I'll do you next," I assured him. I let go of Ash and walked over to Paul, and began to message his shoulders properly.

"Wow, you're good at this, May," Dawn said as Paul grunted in relief. "Maybe you could show me how to do that sometime."

After I finished with Paul, we all finally stepped back into Blackthorn City. We looked around for a while trying to find the Pokémon Center. The unlike before, all the fires had been put out, and there was no longer trash and rubble strewn around the street. Many of the buildings had boarded up windows, holes covers in tarp, or were too destroyed to try patching.

Ash sighed sadly and said "It's still so hard to believe that all-" He was cut off when a figure slammed into him, both falling to the ground.

"Hey! Watch where you're going! I outta fine you!"

"Oh dear Arceus," Dawn grumbled. Lying on the ground next to Ash was a tall blonde boy, who rubbed a spot on his forehead.

"Well, if it isn't Ash Ketchum!" the boy said, rising to his feet.

"Barry..." Ash groaned as he also rubbed his head, "What are you doing here?"

I helped Ash back to his feet as 'Barry' began to explain. "Well, I heard about the Team Rocket mishap and how my dad's tower was knocked over," he began, "So I rushed here as fast I could to see if everything was okay, and boy did I rush!"

Barry glanced at Dawn and Paul. "Hey, I see that you're still traveling with Dawn," He said, "And now with Paul too?"

"Um... Yeah..." Ash said as Paul and Dawn both shook their heads.

"Oh, that's awesome," Barry said, he glanced at me for a moment. "Who do you think you are?" he began, "Scram! I'm not here to be gawked at!"

My jaw dropped and I glared at him, I understood he didn't know me, but he was still extremely rude. "Uh... Barry... That's..." Ash began.

"Excuse me!" I shouted, getting in Barry's face. "But I just so happen to know Ash as well! Thank you very much!"

"Hey! You better not shout in my face or I'll fine you!" Barry exclaimed.

"No! I'll fine **you**!" I shot back.

"Not if I fine you **first**!"

"Oh I'm defiantly fining you first!"

"No you're not! I officially have fined you!"

"Yeah? Well I'm still fining you!"

"Hah! Well guess what! My fine overrides yours!"

"Then I'll double fine you!"

...

"Double fine?" Barry asked, thinking for a minute. "What the heck is a _double fine_?"

I smirked and folded my arms. "It override's your fine," I told him proudly.

"Then I **triple **fine you!"

"I **quadruple **fine you!"

"Then I Uh... Er... What comes after quadruple?" Barry asked.

Paul and Ash thought for a moment. "Um... Qui- er- qiunsomething..." Ash tried to say.

"I **quinsomething **fine you!" Barry shouted.

"GENGAR!" Gengar suddenly jumped in front of Barry and used Leer, knocking the tall trainer to his seat.

"Holy biscuits! A Gengar!" Barry said standing up. "I should fine you for scaring me like that!"

"Barry... Just try to control yourself..." Dawn said.

"Don't tell me what to do, woman!" Barry shouted, "This is a free country!"

"Barry, cut it out," Paul said.

Barry saluted, "Yes, sir!"

I exchanged glances with Ash. _What the heck is up with this kid, he's crazy_, I thought, _but he seems to respect Paul._

"Barry, this is my friend, May," Ash said, patting my shoulder, "I first met her in the Hoenn region."

Barry looked at me for a few moments before smiling and sticking out his hand. "Nice to meet you," he said, "being that you're a friend of Ash's, I'm going to remove you of your fines... _This time_."

I smiled and grabbed his hand, shaking it. "Um... Nice to meet you," I said, "And thanks... I guess."

Barry then turned to Ash and asked, "So Ash, was brings to out to an overcooked city like Blackthorn?"

Ash smiled and showed Barry his Frontier Prints. "I'm in Johto to beat the Battle Frontier," he said proudly, "I need to find a man named Scott, to hopefully figure out where the final Battle Facility is."

"Scott, eh?" Barry asked, "Does this man usually wear a sun glasses and a bright blue shirt, has brown, curly hair, and is... Um... How do I put it nicely... Well rounded?"

Ash's face brightened, "Do you know him?"

Barry laughed. "Know him? Me and him are like this!" He said, showing us his hand, his index finger and his middle finger sticking out side by side.

...

"Okay not really," Barry admitted, "I only met him yesterday."

"Can you take us to him?" Dawn asked.

Barry spun around and pointed down the road. "Right this way!" he exclaimed.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

Barry did indeed know where Scott was, he and Palmer were hard at work helping restore the city.

"Good to see you all," Palmer said as they approached them, "How did that Grand Festival go?"

I was about to answer, but Ash spoke up for me. "It was incredible!" He exclaimed, "May won! And Dawn got runner-up!"

Barry's eyes widened as Scott and Palmer smiled. "Congratulations," Scott said.

"Wait, you're a top coordinator?" Barry asked me. I smiled and proudly nodded. "Oh... Wow..." Barry said, scratching the back of his head. I could tell that if he didn't respect me before, he certainly did now.

"So, Scott," Ash began, "I was wondering where the final Frontier Brain is, or if you could point me in the right direction."

Scotty wiped his hands on his pants and grunted. "The facility isn't far from here," he said, "but you would never find it on foot, I'll have to take you there myself."

I tilted my head, "how?" I asked.

Scott gestured to the top of a building nearby. Atop it on the roof sat a helicopter. "We'll fly there," he answered, "But we can't leave until tomorrow, I have important tasks to finish." He chuckled and lifted his arms, "All this work is getting me in much better shape."

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

With the help of Barry, we quickly found the Pokémon Center and signed in. Luckily, the Center has been well kept and fixed up early, from the inside, it looked as if there had never been an attack.

"Oh, to rest my weary feet," Paul said and he flopped down on his bed.

"Ditto," Ash agreed, also falling onto his bed, his Pokémon mimicking his movement.

I sighed. "Well, maybe if you hadn't been so determined to carry me down a mountain it wouldn't have been to so hard," I told him.

"Oh, don't act like you didn't like it," Ash grumbled, his voiced muffled as his face was buried in a pillow.

I laughed and say down on his bed by him, rubbing his back. "Oh, I liked it a lot," I admitted, "we should do it again sometime."

Ash let out a long groan, Paul, Dawn, and I all stifled a laugh.

...

"I wonder who the final frontier brain will be," Dawn said, breaking the silence, she began to rub Paul's back.

"I don't know," Ash said, finally taking his face from the pillow, "But I'm sure he will-"

"- Or she," I interrupted.

"I'm sure he _or she_ will be super strong," Ash said, "Palmer was really difficult, I can't imagine who could be stronger than him."

I smiled, "Well, you, for one, are," I told, "You beat him fair and square." I leaned down and pecked the side of his head.

"And Paul did as well," Dawn added, mimicking my movement.

I continued to rub Ash's back for a minute before speaking up again. "So, what Pokémon do you plan on using?" I asked.

Ash shrugged, "I don't know what kind of battle it will be."

"Scott told me it would be six on six," Paul said.

Ash was quiet for a minute, thinking about his choices. "Well, I'll definitely use Pikachu," he began.

"Gen?" Gengar asked, crawling over Ash and looking at him hopefully.

"And Gengar," Ash said with a smiled, Lucario also looked at him hopefully, "And Lucario..."

All three of his Pokémon were happy he had chosen them. "And probably Totodile and Gible," he said, "They've gotten me this far, I think they deserve this battle."

I counted up his Pokémon, realizing he only had five Pokémon. "But you still have room for one more Pokémon," I told him, "Who will you use?"

Ash thought for another minute. "Maybe I'll get a Pokémon from the lab..." he said, "But then again, I'm going to probably need my strongest Pokémon for this battle, maybe I should get Charizard..."

He laid there silently for another moment. "I should probably call now so Charizard has a chance to fly here and rest," he said. With that, he quickly got up and rushed out of the room.

...

"So what about you?" Dawn asked, nudging Paul, "What Pokémon will you use?"

Paul smirked. "I've been working on a super team," he said, "It'll be unstoppable."

_It's interesting how Paul always thinks things thoroughly_, I thought, _while Ash kind of just wings it, thinking of a strategy as he goes along._

I looked at the purple haired male, as he and Dawn talked. I had heard a lot stories about him. He was the super tough trainer with no heart, according to Ash. He over worked his Pokémon and didn't love them, releasing them and sending them away if he found that they were too weak for his liking.

Ash had told me several times about how he had freed a Chimchar, which Ash then adopted and invited into his team. Before I had met Paul, I imagined him to be a large, scary figure who had lifeless eyes and no feelings towards others. But now, as I watched him and Dawn talked, I would never have guessed he had been so horrible to his Pokémon had no one ever told me. Whether it was Dawn or something else, he had definitely changed for the better.

"Hey guys!" Ash exclaimed, bursting into the room, "Charizard is on his way!"

I smiled as I recalled the last time I had seen the large orange dragon. He, along with Ash's Bulbasaur and Squirtle, helped defeat Brandon, the final frontier brain of the Battle Pyramid in the Kanto region.

"That's so cool," I told him, he smiled and nodded in return. Suddenly, I felt a vibration from my torso and a low rumble come from my stomach.

"Sounds like May's hungry," Dawn said cheerfully, "She leapt up from Paul's bed and walked to the door. "Come on, let's all go eat!"

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

When we walked into the cafeteria, the first thing we all noticed was the head of light blonde hair sitting at one of the tables. "Hey, you guys!" Barry shouted, waving his arms, "Come sit down!"

We exchanged glances before shrugging and walking over to where Barry was sitting. I saw Gengar's eyes grow wide as he saw Barry's plate of french fries sitting on the table. As he lunged throughout the air towards the fried, I quickly grabbed him and held him tightly up against my chest. "Control yourself," I whispered to him, "You'll get your own soon enough."

Gengar settled down and simply floated through my grasp, grumpily sitting on the floor. We all sat down at the table as Pikachu and Lucario joined Gengar on the floor.

"So Ash," Barry said, "What have you been up to lately? I haven't seen you in a while."

Ash shrugged. "As you know, I'm battling for the Frontier Prints," he began, "Before that; I went through the Unova Region."

"Unova, eh?" Barry asked, "I thought about going there..."

I saw Gengar behind Berry, looking at the fries, which were still sitting on the plate before him. I silently shook my head, trying to signal him to not try anything. The last thing we needed was Barry fining everyone.

_"... But then I realized the Hoenn region would be so much more convenient..."_

Using stealth, Gengar began to reach around Barry, but froze as the trainer picked up a fry himself.

_"... I mean, then I could just head over to Johto, and then Kanto is right next to it..."_

Luckily, Barry didn't bother to look down when he grabbed the fry and stuck it in his mouth. Gengar then continued to reach for the fries. With a fast and soundless sweep, he grabbed and hand full of fries and disappeared behind Barry.

"... And then I would go to Unova." Barry finished, "Say, is it me, or did it suddenly get colder in here?"

"Oh, it's probably the air conditioner," I said quickly, pointing at the vent up on the ceiling.

Barry glanced up there, shrugging, "Huh, weird. So what did you do, Paul?" he asked.

Paul remained silent for a second before speaking up. "I challenged the Battle Frontier in the Kanto region, and then Scott convinced me to try this one as well."

Ash's face brightened, "Hey, did you ever beat Brandon?" he asked.

Paul smirked and nodded. "Yeah," he said plainly.

"Oh, good for you," Ash said, Paul simply shrugged in response.

"So Dad told me all about Team Rocket," Barry said, "And how you stopped them!"

Ash's face suddenly went a little pale; the shame from taking down the giant aircraft that he had bottled up was coming back. Without a word, I wrapped both my arms around him, and laid my head on his shoulder, hoping to calm him down.

Barry watched me do so, and looked at me oddly. "Are you-?" he began.

"Yes," I said quickly, interrupting him. His eyes widened, and aside from breathing and blinking, he didn't move for several seconds. He must have begun to feel guilty about yelling at me when we first met.

"So, I was thinking..." Barry began, speaking quietly, "... I don't have much to do here at the moment; I was wondering if I could accompany you to the Battle Kingdom."

Ash seemed to have recovered from his little episode, and asked, "Battle Kingdom?"

Barry shrugged, "Yeah, that's what my Dad told me it was called anyways."

"It's said to have an extremely huge stadium," Paul added, "You could do a triple battle all with Wailords."

Ash huffed and crossed his arms. "How come Scott told you so much about the Battle Kingdom and not me?" he exclaimed.

Paul sighed. "Because we were interrupted by Team Rocket destroying the city," he said.

Ash sweat-dropped. "Oh yeah..."

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

Ash spent the rest of his day training his Pokémon. I followed him out to a large field and sat down in the grass, playing around with Gengar whenever he wasn't training. Charizard indeed arrived later in the evening, giving Ash a nice, warm welcome... Very warm actually.

Before long, it grew too dark to continue training, so we returned to the Pokémon Center, where Dawn was retelling the tale of how Team Rocket attacked Blackthorn City to Barry.

"Jeepers," Barry said, scratching his head, "You got to meet the three legendary beasts, Mewtwo, and Rayquaza? Lucky..."

Dawn shuddered. "It's not an experience I would want to go through again," She said, face suddenly brightened, "But I'm glad I met Mewtwo... I hope I see him again someday..."

Ash smiled and patted her shoulder. "I'm sure you meet him sooner than you think," he assured her. She smiled and nodded in response.

"Well, the helicopter is all set to go," Scott said, stepping into the lobby, "We can leave first thing in the morning."

Ash's face lit up and he pumped his fist. "Alright!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu added, copying Ash's pose from his shoulder.

"Tomorrow, I'm gonna meet the final frontier brain, and beat him!" Ash exclaimed, "Then I'll have all the frontier prints!"

"Confident as ever," Dawn said.

"Don't get overly confident," I told him, "Remember how long it took you to beat Brandon?"

Ash sweat-dropped. "Don't remind me..." he grumbled.

"Pikachu," Pikachu said in a sulky tone.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

_"May! Get up!"_

It felt like the entire building was shaking. I opened an eye and saw Ash excitedly shaking me. "Come on! Get ready to go! I want to get to the Battle Kingdom!" he said before dashing out of the room.

I groaned and rolled out of bed, looking out the window, I could see that the sun hadn't even risen yet. Why doesn't he get up like this when I have contests? I asked myself as I grabbed my bandanna and wrapping it around my head.

I quickly prepared myself and walked out into the lobby, where Paul, Dawn, and Barry stood groggily. Everyone except for Ash looked like they were about to topple over and fall asleep. Ash's Pokémon were doing stretching exercises on the floor.

"Got to get those muscles ready," Ash said, proudly watching his Pokémon.

"What about Gengar?" I asked, motioning to the purple Pokémon, "He's a ghost, he doesn't have muscles..."

Ash watched Gengar stretch for a minute before shrugging. "I don't know," he admitted.

A few minutes later, Scott approached us; even he looked a little groggy. We all followed him outside to his helicopter, and before I knew it, we were airborne.

As the cool air whipped through my hair and on my face, I began to grow more alert. None-the-less, I couldn't help but let out a long yawn, and laid my head down on Ash's shoulder. I felt him lift his arm and scratch my forehead, similar to how he would a Pokémon.

_It must be his way of showing affection_, I thought, _Ash had definitely learned a lot since we first got together, but he still had a long way to go._

…_  
><em>  
><em>I still have a long way to go,<em> I thought, _maybe I knew more about affection and love than Ash did, I watched romantic shows and read romantic books, but I didn't know everything...  
><em>  
>"Are you nervous?" I asked him, tilting my head slightly to look up at him.<p>

"Pfft, me nervous?" Ash asked.

I giggled and snuggled into his neck. "Oh brother," I said.

"I never thought of Ash to be the ladies' man," Barry said.

Paul chuckled nodding in agreement. "Pretty surprising," he said. Ash just rolled his eyes and ignored them.

"We're here," Scott said.

We all hurried out of our seats and looked over the helicopter. I understood now why we had come by helicopter. Far off in the distance was a small speck that was Blackthorn City and just ahead was a large castle, there was nothing but miles upon miles of dense forest in-between the two locations.

"Thank Arceus we didn't walk," I said, I could hear Scott chuckle from the cockpit.

The helicopter descended and gently landed in the dewy grass. We hopped off, Ash and his Pokémon excitedly broke into a run to the large castle.

"Whoa... So that's the Battle Castle, eh?" Barry asked, stunned by the gigantic castle.

"It's huge..." Dawn gasped. The castle was indeed very large.

We all rushed over to Ash, who was impatiently waiting for us at the moat. We all crossed it and stepped foot inside the Battle Kingdom. Inside the floors and walls were all constructed of marble, bright red carpet ran down the halls and red cloth hung over windows and from the walls.

"Nice place..." Barry murmured, his voice echoed down the massive halls.

"Ah, it's good to see I finally have a challenger," Someone said, "It's been so long..."

We all turned towards the voice and Ash's eyes went wide. "Y-you!" he exclaimed.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh, of course I end here, how predictable... More evilness on my part, bwahahaha.<strong>

**Yep, so now you get to play the joyous guessing game, trying to figure out just who the final frontier brain is. The only hint I will give you is that he/she has appeared in the anime before.**

**No, it's not a crossover.**

**No, it's not an OC.**

**No, it's not Red...**

**... But that would be awesome.**

**I feel like this was kind of a filler chapter... Not much of significance really happened... Oh well.**

**The OC poll thingamabob ended, the support for OC's were pretty strong... So I will most likely be excepting OCs for that story as well.**

**And no, it's not a sequel to this story, sorry. :(**

**The Shiny Gengar**


	35. Chapter 35: The Epic Battle Part 1

**Chapter 35: The Epic Battle Part 1**

* * *

><p><strong>Hi. :D Sorry about the slight delay, fanfiction was being a piece of crap last night and wouldn't let me on, and I had ACTs this morning.<strong>

**So you finally get to see the final frontier brain, meaning all will be revealed... Yep... Pretty intense stuff.**

**Shiny Points (Aka the new Shiny Gengar currency, value: 1/1000 of a penny) if you find the Spiderman reference...**

**... At least... I think it's Spiderman...**

**I don't own Pokémon**

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

Ash's and Pikachu's jaw dropped as they saw the final frontier brain. Dawn and Barry looked really surprised as well.

The man who stood before us was tall with dark grey hair, and he had a red cloak draped over his torso. Although I knew I had never met the man before, he seemed familiar.

"Tobias?" Ash exclaimed, "You're the frontier brain!"

The man wordlessly nodded. After looking at him for a few seconds, I finally recognized him. He had beaten Ash during the Lily of the Valley Conference in Sinnoh, and continued on to be the final victor. Inside, I couldn't help but feel a little anger boil inside. The battle he and Ash had during the conference was the most unfair battle I had ever seen. He had abused legendary Pokémons' power to win the entire league.

Although I did feel the tinge of anger, I kept it to myself. Glancing at Ash I could tell he had lost a lot of the confidence he had before. He was about to face one of his toughest battles yet.

"So Ash, are you the one here to challenge me?" Tobias asked. Ash just gawked at the Frontier Brain, unable to answer. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it, seeming to bring him back to his senses.

"Uh, y-yeah..." he stammered. Scratching the back of his head, "I-I'd like to challenge you..."

Tobias smiled confidently. "Well I am looking forward to the battle. You where my toughest opponent ever since I got Darkrai," Tobias said, "It's nice to actually have a challenge every once in a while. Get yourself ready and I'll be waiting on the battle field."

With that, Tobias turned around and walked down the hall, the tapping of his footsteps echoing off the huge walls.

"Oh boy..." Ash groaned.

"Well, this will be interesting," Barry said, "From what I remember, he crushed you last time you battled- **Ow!**Hey!" He whined when Dawn hit his arm.

"We're going to go get seats," Dawn said, "Good luck, Ash."

With that, Scott, Barry, Paul, and Dawn all walked off, leaving Ash, his Pokémon, and me by ourselves. "Well..." I said, "Good luck..."

Ash took a deep breath, glancing at the large doors leading to the field. He sighed and shook his head. "I'm not ready for this, May," he said, "And neither are my Pokémon."

I looked at him and smiled brightly, hoping to lift his spirits. "Hey, you've fought harder battles, you'll pull-"

"No I haven't," Ash said, interrupting me, gazing at the ground. "I've never met an opponent as powerful as Tobias..."

I glanced at his Pokémon, all who looked equally worried. "Ash, you have to stay confident, if not for yourself, then for your Pokémon," I told him, placing my right hand under his chin and lifting his head.

Ash finally met my eyes, gazing at me, worry written all over his face. "How am I supposed to feel confident at a time like this?" he asked.

I looked at him for a few seconds, thinking about the moment we had before Dawn's and my battle during the Grand Festival. "I don't know about you," I said, "But this worked for me." I leaned over and kissed him on the lips. I heard Gengar groan, covering his and Lucario's eyes with his arms.

I let go as Ash's head and backed away, breaking us apart. Ash stood there for a moment, staring at me. I flashed him a confident smile, "Go get 'em, tiger."

A grin spread across his face and the worry seemed to wash away. "Thanks, May," he said, and with that, he and his Pokémon rushed to the battle field.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

Paul wasn't kidding when he said the field was huge. The field had to be at least five times as wide as a normal field, and five times as long. The open air up above the field allowed plenty of room for flying Pokémon, and the sun was shining brightly, naturally lighting up the gigantic space.

"So much open space," Dawn said, "It must be hard to keep clean." I wiped my finger on the railing in front of me. It was completely spotless.

I glanced over at Tobias and saw that he was putting an earpiece into his ear. "Checking, 1, 2, 3," he said, his voice booming through the speakers around the stadium.

"Because the stage is so large, it can be hard for the Pokémon to hear what their trainers are saying," Scott explained, "Thus, the microphones."

We looked over at Ash and saw that he too had been given an earpiece as well. "Uh, hello?" he said, his voice booming though the stadium.

"Whoa, cool..." he said, his voice loudly ringing through the speakers.

"GENGAR!" Gengar shouted loudly into Ash's earpiece. His voice thundered throughout the building, the sound waves were so strong, we all shook.

"Gengar, don't do that," Ash said, pushing the Ghost type away from the mike. "Okay, Tobias, what are the rules?" he asked.

"It will be a full six-on-six battle, no time limit," A referee said, he was standing in the normal spot at the side up the field, "Only the challenger is allowed substitutions. Are both contestants ready?"

Both Ash and Tobias nodded. "Please note this battle is being recorded for the whole world to see, try not to embarrass yourselves too much," the ref said, both Dawn and I sunk in our seats. "Now, will both trainers send out their Pokémon?"

With that, Tobias pulled out his first Pokémon. "You may recognize this Pokémon," Tobias said, as he enlarged his Pokéball. "Darkrai, go!"

He threw his Pokéball into the air, which snapped open, releasing a creepy, ghost-like Pokéball. It made my skin crawl, "What is that?" I asked.

"That's Tobias's Darkrai," Barry explained, "It's never been defeated before, except for by Ash's Sceptile."

Even from so far away, I could read Ash's expression, he had a smirk on his face. "You may recognize this little guy too," He said, "Gible! I choose you!"

"Oh man!" Berry said excitedly, "This is gonna be so intense!"

I looked at him oddly, "Why?" I asked him.

"Darkrai defeated Gible in their last battle," Barry said.

"I'm sure Gible will be anxious for revenge," Dawn said.

The cute little dragon type appeared on the stage, looking at the Darkrai. "Gible, remember this guy?" Ash asked. Gible's face darkened and he glared fiercely at the Pokémon on the other side of the field.

"Gib-le," He growled, determination written all over him face.

"Let's show him just how much you've grown!" Ash said. "Use Dragon Pulse!"

Gible threw his head back and hurled the glowing blue orb at Darkrai.

"Simply dodge it," Tobias said. Darkrai had no problem avoiding the Dragon Pulse. "Now use Dark Pulse!"

"Use Dig to dodge!" Ash said. Gible quickly hid underground. The Dark Pulse harmlessly hit the ground where he once stood.

"Darkrai, float up high enough so Dig won't hit you," Tobias said. Darkrai indeed simply floated high into the sky, safely out of range. Gible popped out of the ground, looking about for Darkrai.

"Quick Attack!" Tobias ordered. Darkrai shot down and caught Gible by surprise.

"Gible!" Gible exclaimed as he flew through the air and hit the ground.

"That was dirty!" Dawn exclaimed, standing up.

"There aren't any rules that say he can't do that," Paul told her, "he was simply using the element of surprise."

"I still don't like it," Dawn grumbled.

"Well that's your problem," Paul told her.

Gible got up from the ground, more determined than ever to prove himself. "We have to end this quickly," Ash murmured, but we could still hear him through the speakers. "Draco Meteor!"

Gible nodded and threw his head back. "Giiiiiiiii**BLE**!" he grunted as the orange orb that was Draco Meteor shot into the sky. It exploded and orange meteors fell to the field, causing it to shake. Unfortunately, Darkrai weaved through the falling meteors, avoiding the attack.

"Dang it," I grumbled, "Usually that works."

"I see your Gible had improved his Draco Meteor, most impressive," Tobias praised, "Unfortunately for you, Darkrai can still avoid it. Now, use Hyper Beam!"

"Dodge it and then Rock Smash!" Ash said as Darkrai charged up. Using his short, little arms, Gible dug underground and quickly dug across the field, the fin on his head popping out similar to a Sharpedo in the water.

Being able to dig so fast was barely enough for dodge the Hyper Beam. Darkrai was frozen having to recharge from using the attack, giving Gible just enough time to shoot out of the dirt and slam into him using a super effective Brick Break. The Darkrai growled and glared at Gible, who returned with a sharp growl of his own. "Don't let it intimidate you!" Ash said.

"Ash finally landed a hit," Barry said.

"Yeah, but he still has a long way to go," Paul replied.

"Gible! Sandstorm!" Ash exclaimed. Gible nodded and whipped up a sandstorm.

"Dark Void!" Tobias exclaimed. Darkrai prepared the attack and fired it at Gible, who, with surprising speed, dodge the attack.

"Whoa! How did Gible get such a speed boost?" I asked, turning to Paul.

Paul smirked and nodded to the sandstorm. "I believe it's Gible's ability," he began to explain, "being that there is a sandstorm, his speed has been boosted."

"That clever Ash, always thinking," Scott said with a smile.

"So that's how you're going to play it, eh?" Tobias asked, "Very well then. Darkrai, use Double Team!"

Darkrai suddenly began to multiply around the field, leaving Gible to guess which the real one was.

"Quick Attack!" Tobias shouted. All the Darkrai's charged forward at Gible, leaving the dragon type with no choice but to be hit.

"Gib!" Gible groaned as he rose back to his feet.

"Gible, another Brick Break!" Ash said. Leaping into action with the speed boost, Gible leapt into the air and hit Darkrai with speed boost again. Darkrai grunted and fell over, hitting the ground.

"Darkrai isn't used to actually getting hit by attacks," Tobias said, "Most impressive."

"Oh yeah?" Ash asked, "We got plenty more, right Gible?"

"Gib Gible!" Gible shouted through the sandstorm.

"Dark Pulse!" Tobias suddenly commanded.

"Dragon Pulse!" Ash said in response.

Both Pokémon prepared their attacks before firing them. The two attacks collided, creating an explosion.

"Dark Void!" Tobias exclaimed.

"Dodge it!" Ash shouted.

Gible began to dodge, but suddenly, the sandstorm disappeared and his speed decrease back to normal.

"Huh?" Ash grunted.

"Gib?" Giblets said, looking surprised. Suddenly he was nailed by the Dark Void, plummeting into a deep sleep.

"Oh no!" Dawn gasped.

"Ash is in for it now," Scott said.

"Nightmare," Tobias said casually. Darkrai began to move his arms in a circular motion, surrounding itself with a dark aura. The aura suddenly moved to Gible, surrounding him and making him fidget, as if having a bad dream.

"Gible! Wake up!" I shouted at the Pokémon.

"Come on, Gible! Get up!" Ash shouted shortly after.

Gible continued to fidget, but wouldn't wake up. "This is bad," Paul said, "If Gible doesn't wake up soon, he'll be knocked out by Nightmare."

"Gible, if you don't wake up I'm going to have to fine you!" Barry shouted.

"Come on Gible! Wake up!" Dawn shouted.

I took a deep breath, and in union with Ash, we shouted, "Wake up, Gible!"

The dragon's eyes snapped open. "Gible!" Gible exclaimed, leaping to his feet. We all cheered and clapped as he got back up.

"Can you still battle, Gible?" Ash asked.

"Gib!" Gible exclaimed, nodding his head.

"Great, because I got an idea!" Ash said, "You just have to trust me!" Gible turned and faced Ash, blinking a few times before nodding in agreement.

"Sandstorm, once more!" Ash exclaimed. With a growl, Gible managed to whip up another sandstorm.

Tobias let out an annoyed "hmph," clearly displeased with the sandstorm. "Darkrai, go ahead and use Nasty Plot," Tobias said. Darkrai let out a horrible howl, sending goose bumps up and down my arms and making my hair stand on end.

"That wasn't pleasant," I said with a shiver.

Darkrai held out his arms, energy from the air seeped into him, causing him to briefly glow before fading back to normal. "What was that?" I asked.

"Nasty Plot boosts special attack," Scott said, "So most of its attacks will be boosted."

"Gible! Stand still!" Ash ordered.

"What? Is he crazy?" Barry exclaimed, gripping the railing in front of him.

"Dark Pulse!" Tobias shouted.

Darkrai once again prepared an attack and fired it at Gible. "Dodge it... Now!" Ash exclaimed, Gible side stepped, narrowly avoiding the attack.

"Dark Pulse again!" Tobias said. Darkrai nodded and fired the attack.

"Dodge it... Now!" Ash repeated, Gible leapt out of the way just in time.

"This isn't getting anywhere," Tobias admitted quietly, "Dark Void!"

"Go underground to dodge!" Ash said, Gible disappeared underneath the dirt as Darkrai attempted to attack, but with the ground in the way, it was impossible to hit Gible.

"Well that's not working either," Tobias mumbled, "Quick Attack at the fin!" Referring to the Gible's fin, which still stuck out of the ground.

"Dig deeper!" Ash said. Gible simply dug deeper into the ground to avoid the Quick Attack.

"Why won't Ash attack?" Dawn asked, "Dodging won't get him anywhere."

Paul smirked as he watched Gible. "I think I know what Ash is up to," he said

Tobias twitch, "_Rrr_," he growled in a frustrated manner, "Darkrai! Use Hyper Beam into the hole!"

"Oh no..." I said, but Ash was smirking.

"Gible! Get ready!" Ash exclaimed. "Dig at Darkrai!"

Darkrai floated over to the hole Gible had dug, and fired Hyper Beam into it. The ground lit up as the bright laser shot through Gible's underground tunnel. Gible's fin resurfaced and he dug toward Darkrai.

"Okay, quickly get out of there!" Ash exclaimed. Gible shot out of the ground, the Hyper Beam harmlessly firing into the sky.

Now everything made sense.

"Draco Meteor!" Ash exclaimed.

"No!" Tobias exclaimed, "Darkrai! Try to dodge!"

But the Hyper Beam had left Darkrai stuck, he couldn't move until he had recharged.

Gible fired Draco Meteor into the sky; it exploded and fell to the ground. Unlike before, this attack nailed the frozen Darkrai. Tons of dust was uplifted by the attack, and by this point the sandstorm had settled and gone away.

When the dust dispersed enough for us to see, we saw a wobbly Darkrai floating in the sky, barley able to keep itself up. Suddenly, it grunted, and fell over, knocked out.

...

"D-D-Darkrai... I-is unable to b-b-battle..." the referee stammered, he was amazed that the dark type had fallen. "T-the wi-winner of this r-round is Ash... And his Gi-Gible..."

...

"Gi-ble!" Gible exclaimed cheerfully, he happily began to dance around.

Everyone in the bleacher's jaws went slack and eyes wide when we looked at the fallen dark type Pokémon.

"He took down Darkrai..." Barry said.

"He took down a legendary..." Dawn continued.

"A Pokémon that strong..." Paul said, amazed.

"... With only one Pokémon," I finished.

Scott chuckled. "Wow, I don't think I have ever seen anybody take down Darkrai," he admitted.

"Gible! You did it!" Ash exclaimed excitedly, he ran over to Gible and hugged the tired Pokémon. Who looked about ready to fall over. The battle and the dance must have almost completely wiped him out.

"Alright, Gible, try to regain your energy in case I need you again," Ash said, pulling out Gible's Pokéball and returning him.

"Wow, I can't remember the last time anyone has beaten Darkrai," Tobias said, "In fact... I think it was you. You have shown an admirable skill when it comes to battling, and I applaud you for making it this far." Tobias reached down and uncoupled another Pokéball, "But this battle is far from over... Go! Latios!"

He threw his Pokéball, revealing his next Pokémon. The blue dragon/psychic type of the Eon Duo. "You may remember this Pokémon as well," Tobias said.

Ash nodded and glanced at Pikachu. "You ready for a rematch, buddy?" Ash asked.

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed, leaping into the field, cheeks sparking menacingly.

"Ah, Latios, do you remember this young mouse?" Tobias asked. Latios looked at Pikachu for a moment before growling and nodding.

"those two battled in the Lily of the Valley Conference," Dawn whispered to me, "It ended in a draw."

"Are both trainers ready?" The referee asked. Both Tobias and Ash nodded. "Okay then... Begin!"

"Latios! Dragon Breath!" Tobias shouted, Latios threw back his head and fired bright green flames at Pikachu.

"Quick Attack to dodge!" Ash ordered.

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed and dashed away from the Dragon Breath attack.

"Continue Dragon Breath and use Quick Attack too," Tobias said. Latios flew into his own flames, engulfing himself in the green fire as he charged at Pikachu.

"Iron Tail!" Ash shouted. Pikachu leapt into the air and did a backwards summersault, his tail shimmering metallically. He slammed it into Latio's forehead, but was also hit by the Dragon Breath/Quick Attack combination, tumbling to the ground.

"Pikachuuuuu," Pikachu growled as his cheeks sparked.

I noticed that Latios was tending to keep his distance from Pikachu, hovering on the other side of the massive field. "Is Latios afraid of Pikachu?" I asked to no one in particular.

"You see, in their last battle, Pikachu grabbed onto Latios and used constant electric attacks," Dawn explained, "I don't think Latios wants to give Pikachu that kind of chance again."

"Luster Purge!" Tobias exclaimed. Latios threw his head back and fired a strange purple beam at Pikachu, hitting the electric type.

"Pika!" Pikachu grunted as he toppled onto his back. But as quickly as he fell he got back put, glaring at the Latios.

"Pikachu! Use Thunder!" Ash exclaimed. Pikachu nodded and began to charge up the attack.

"PiiiiiikaaaaCHUUUUUUUU!" Pikachu exclaimed as he charged, took aim, and fired Thunder.

"Dodge it," Tobias said. Latios swiftly flew out of the range of Thunder.

"He's fast," I murmured, "But Ash can beat him."

"Dragon Dance," Tobias said.

My eyes widened, "Oh no..." I said, "Latios is already so fast... Dragon Dance will boost his speed and his attack."

"Pikachu! We have to stop the stat boost!" Ash began, "Quick Attack!"

Pikachu dashed at Latios as the dragon began to glow; he leapt into the air and crashed into Latios. I let out a breath of relief when the boost came to a halt.

"Hmph, Latios, fly high out of Pikachu's range and then do Dragon Dance," Tobias said. Latios shot high into the sky, Pikachu would have no chance of hitting him and stopping the boost.

"Pikachu! Come back, quick! Lucario! Get out there!" Ash exclaimed. Pikachu and Lucario changed places. "We have to stop the speed boost! As many Aura Spheres as possible!" Ash ordered.

Lucario quickly prepared the attack and fired the Aura Spheres at Latios, stopping Dragon Dance just in time.

"Well that didn't go as well as I had hoped," Tobias said, "Latios Zen Head Butt!"

"Lucario! Great job! Now switch back out with Pikachu!" Ash said. Lucario nodded and ran back to Ash's side as Pikachu jumped back into the field.

"Good move," Paul said, "It was smart of Ash to switch into Lucario to use Aura Sphere, or that Latios could have crushed his entire team with the stat boost."

Latios fell from the sky, his head glowing brightly. The speed boost he gained by falling made the attack impossible to dodge, and he hit Pikachu hard, sending the Electric Mouse Pokémon flying across the field.

"Pi... Pika..." Pikachu grunted as he rose to his feet. He seemed to appear a bit frustrated.

"Come on, Ash," I whispered, "Think of something..."

"Pikachu! Use Agility!" Ash said, Pikachu's suddenly smirked and he disappeared, reappearing in different parts of the field.

"Iron Tail!" he shouted. Pikachu appeared above Latios, slamming his tail in the psychic type. Pikachu disappeared again and Latios fell to the ground, but quickly recovered.

"Okay Latios, I think now would be a good time to use recover," Tobias said.

Latios began to chant a strange tune and sparkles of light began to surround it, and with a flash, Latios recovered, looking quite refreshed.

"I. **Hate**. That. **Move**!" Dawn exclaimed angrily. "It shouldn't be able to just heal itself like that! It doesn't seem fair!"

"Take a chill pill, Dawn," Paul said, "I'm sure Ash will find some way around it."

Turning back to the field, Latios and Pikachu were each on opposite ends, glaring at each other. Latios looks fairly refreshed while Pikachu appeared a bit more tired.

"Zen Head Butt!" Tobias said. Latio's head began to glow and he charged forward at Pikachu.

"Jump and use Iron Tail on my command!" Ash shouted, Pikachu nodded and prepared himself, tail already glowing.

Latios changed forward at Pikachu at blinding speed. "... Now!" Ash exclaimed. Pikachu quickly leapt into the air and slammed his tail into Latios, causing him and fall to the ground.

"Get on Latios!" Ash exclaimed, while Latios was still recovering, Pikachu leapt onto his back. Realizing what was happening, Latios shot forward, panicking and frantic to get Pikachu off him.

"Thunder!" Ash exclaimed. Pikachu released tons of electricity on Latios, causing the Pokémon to cry out in pain.

"Try to shake him off!" Tobias ordered. Latios began to spiral and spin in a drill like fashion, trying to free himself from Pikachu's grip.

"Hold tight, Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed, "Another Thunder!

Latios lit up once again as Pikachu released a ton of energy, leaving a trail of smoke behind him.

"Fly high! You know what to do!" Tobias shouted. Suddenly, Latios stopped spiraling and flew straight up into the sky, disappearing high above the clouds.

...

...

...

"Um... What's going on up there?" I asked, waiting to see them come down.

Paul looked grim, shaking his head. "Latios flew high into the atmosphere, where the air is extremely thin," he explained, "Pikachu will grow weak from the lack of air and have no choice but to let go."

I gasped and covered my mouth with my hands. "But he'll fall!" I exclaimed, "He could die!"

"Guys, look!" Barry exclaimed, pointing upward. In union, we all craned our heads to see what he was talking about.

Latios was falling, but Pikachu was still holding onto him! "Latios must have run out of air before Pikachu somehow," Dawn said.

As oxygen flowed back into his lungs, Latios recovered, and quickly banked as to not hit the ground. "Scrape him off!" Tobias shouted. Latios flipped upside-down, and lowered himself so close to the ground as he flew that Pikachu scraped the ground and finally let go, too weak to continue holding on.

Pikachu rolled across the field before coming to a stop. His fur was singed and smoking in several places, but none the less, he rose back to his feet.

"Your Pikachu is quite a trooper," Tobias said.

Ash scowled, "I don't appreciate you trying to kill Pikachu back there."

"You tell him, Ash!" I shouted angrily.

Tobias sighed. "I would have told Latios to catch Pikachu if he had fallen," he said, he sounded as if he was being honest, "I would never let a Pokémon die like that."

Ash huffed and stood there for a minute, examining Tobias. "Fine," He said, "But don't do it again."

Tobias nodded, "You have my word."

I turned to Scott. "Do you think Tobias really would have told Latios to catch Pikachu?" I asked him.

Scott nodded. "I've known Tobias for a long time, he had no intention of killing Pikachu, he was just trying to get him off Latios," he said.

"Pikachu! Let's finish this quick!" Ash shouted, "Quick Volt Tackle Iron Tail Attack!"

Pikachu shot forward at lightning speed, soon after he began to emit sparks of electricity. With a shout, he jumped into the air and slammed his tail into Latios. In a bright flash of light, Latios flew backwards and into a far off wall. The crash was so powerful, it shook the entire stadium.

After the dust settled, it was obvious to see that Latios was indeed knocked out, and embedded in the wall.

The referee was flabbergasted; he couldn't believe that both Latios and Darkrai had been taken out. "Latios is unable to battle..." he said, "The winner of this round is Ash and his Pikachu."

We all cheered from the bleachers, clapping and praising Ash for his success thus far. "I can't believe he has gotten this far with losing a single Pokémon!" Dawn said giddily.

"Yeah, I honestly thought he wouldn't even make it past Darkrai," Barry said, "But he pulled through."

Paul shook his head. "Just remember, Tobias has four other Pokémon, and who knows how powerful they are," he said, "Ash may still have all six of his Pokémon, but I can't imagine that Gible and Pikachu really have enough energy to be of any more use."

I grew quiet; Paul had a point, who knew what Tobias had up his sleeve. His Pokémon were so powerful, would Ash be able to take them all out?

"Will both trainers call out their Pokémon?" The referee asked.

"Oh boy!" Barry said, "Now we get to see the other Pokémon Tobias has! Nobody has ever seen the rest of his team beyond Latios!"

Dawn nodded in agreement. "Yeah, this is exciting!"

"Moltres! Go!" Tobias exclaimed as he tossed his Pokéball into the sky. With a flash of light, a burning bird appeared flying above the field.

"Oh man..." Dawn said, "Moltres... The fire type of the legendary birds."

Ash looked at Lucario. "You helped take down Zapdos, why don't you take this round?" Ash asked.

Lucario smiled and leapt onto the field, taking a battle stance. "Are both contestants ready?" The referee asked. Both Ash and Tobias nodded. "Okay then... Begin!"

"Lucario, let's start things off with an Aura Sphere!" Ash said. Lucario nodded and began to charge up the Aura Sphere, firing it into the sky at Moltres.

"Not so fast!" Tobias shouted, "Use Endure!"

Moltres flapped it's wings several times before catching the Aura Sphere, stopping it. With the swing of its arm, he sent the attack back at Lucario, hitting the fighting type with his own attack.

"Rrm!" Lucario grunt as he rolled back to his feet.

"Flame Thrower!" Tobias shouted.

"Dodge it!" Ash exclaimed. Moltres sent a burst of flames at Lucario, who acrobatically flipped backwards to avoid it.

"Again!" Tobias said.

"Use Extreme Speed!" Ash ordered.

Lucario dashed away from the hot flames and circled around Moltres. He leapt into the air and rammed into the legendary flying type. Moltres screeched as it tried to regain its flight, banking and quickly flying just above the ground.

"Aerial Ace!" Tobias said. Moltres suddenly disappeared and reappeared next to Lucario, slamming into him. The force of the attack sent Lucario flying, but he managed to flip and land on his feet.

"Aerial Ace again!" Tobias said.

"Lucario! Use your aura to sense where Moltres is and dodge!" Ash shouted.

As Moltres disappeared again, Lucario closed his eyes and the odd black things hanging behind his ears on his forehead began to levitate. Suddenly, Lucario's eyes snapped open and he dashed forward, narrowly dodging Moltres's attack.

"Wing Attack!" Tobias said.

"Jump and use Bone Rush!" Ash ordered.

Moltres's wings began to glow and it charge forward at Lucario, who leapt into the air and formed his light stick. Moltres missed its target and flew under Lucario, allowing him to thrust the light stick into the bird.

With another screech, Moltres lost his flight and tumbled to the ground.

"Ash seems to have this round in the bag," Barry observed.

Paul nodded, "Seems that way," he agreed, "there is one thing I'm worried about though..."

"Roost!" Tobias commanded.

"That move..." Paul grumbled, Dawn looked about ready to pull out her hair in rage. Moltres began to glow as it replenished his own health. With a squawk, the light faded and Moltres had recovered, looking as good as new.

"What... A cheap... Move..." Dawn growled.

Lucario growled, seeming to be equally aggravated. "Come on, Lucario!" Dawn shouted, "Show that dumb bird what you got!"

"Extreme Speed and Bone Rush!" Ash shouted.

"Drill Peck!" Tobias exclaimed.

Lucario charged forward, forming his light stick. He jumped at Moltres, who was now spinning like a drill. With a bright flash of light, the two collided. In midair, the two struggled to overpower the other, but they seemed evenly matched. But gravity quickly kicked in and Lucario fell to the ground, leaving him open for Moltres to hit him with Drill Peck.

He grunted in pain as he was brutally attacked by the flaming bird's Drill Peck. "Lucario! Get out of there!" Dawn pleaded.

Lucario rolled on the ground, finally escaping the Drill Peck, but it was obvious he was badly hurt. "Rrmmm..." he growled.

"Another Aerial Ace!" Tobias ordered.

"Dodge and get on Moltres's back!" Ash shouted.

Lucario once again use his aura and was able to sense where Moltres would attack. Instead of dashing forward, he leapt into the air, and when Moltres appeared, he landed on its back.

"Close Combat!" Ash shouted, Lucario nodded and began to brutally punch and attack the bird from his back, causing Moltres to cry out in pain.

Suddenly, Lucario burst into flames, letting out a painful yelp. "Oh no! Lucario got burned!" Barry said, "But how?"

Scott sighed. "It's Moltres's ability, Flame Body," he began to explain. "Occasionally the opponent will be burned if it touches Moltres."

The pain from the burn forced Lucario to let go of Moltres, falling to the ground with a loud thud. Dawn and I gasped and watched in pity for the fighting type.

"Flame Thrower!" Tobias shouted. Moltres fired another burst of hot flames at Lucario, who was too hurt to dodge.

"Ouch, that's super effective," Paul said.

Moltres stopped the attack, and flew high into the sky. Lucario stood there wobbling, struggling to stay standing.

"Rrr!" Lucario grunted before collapsing to the ground. He let out a long groan before swirls appeared over his eyes.

"No..." Dawn whispered.

Lucario had been knocked out.

* * *

><p><strong>Weeeeewwy...<strong>

**I like writing Pokémon Battles, and this one is by far the biggest one I've ever written, it takes two chapters, baby. :D**

**I already got the whole battle laid out, it's gonna be so awesome.**

**So do you think Ash will win? Or will it be like Brandon all over again? Remember to expect the unexpected!**

**And now, onto something completely different, I recently read the story Missed and Be Missed by XxVintageModxX. It's an amazing little advanceshipping two shot that hasn't gotten enough attention. So be sure to check it out, and leave kind reviews. **

**So yeah, stay tuned, true believer.**

**The Shiny Gengar**


	36. Chapter 36: The Epic Battle Part 2

**Chapter 36: The Epic Battle Part 2**

* * *

><p><strong>So I heard you liek Mudkips? Well that's too bad because you won't be seeing any here...<strong>

**For everyone who found the Spiderman reference, good job, you get 10 shiny points. :P Although that part was really corny... I kinda want to slam my head into something every time I think about it...**

**Ugh.**

**Actually I want to do that every time I looked back at the first bunch of chapters in the story... I want to rewrite them... But then... I don't.**

**For those who are wondering, in the beginning of this story, I was monitoring what moves Ash's Pokémon had learned and had limited them to that. Of course, that got boring and I decided I was going to let them use other moves. And no, I don't care if they can only use four moves in the game, I'll let them have as many attacks as I like. Look up Ash's Charizard on Bulbapideia, that thing has a huge list of moves.**

**Anyways, on to Part 2 of the battle between Ash and Tobias.**

**I don't own Pokémon**

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

Lucario had fallen, lying limp on the ground. Ash ran across the huge field and knelt by his steel type. Eventually, Lucario woke up, and with the help of Ash, limped off the field to recover. I got out of me seat and walked onto the field, over to Lucario. Ash had made his way back to his spot on the field, and the battle began.

I ignored the commotion of the battle and sat down next to Lucario, who refused to look me in the eye. "You did a great job out there," I told him patting his shoulder. He whimpered a little and looked at me sadly, an ashamed look in his eyes.

"Don't feel bad, you did your best," I told him, "You put up a great fight, even if you couldn't take Moltres down."

Lucario didn't seem convinced; he was turned to the battle sadly. "You had a type disadvantage," I said, "We all know that fire type attacks are super effective against steel types."

Lucario looked back, seeming to feel a little better. "You put up a great fight, even with the disadvantage," I said, leaning over and hugging him, "I'm really proud of you."

It felt weird hugging a Pokémon that wasn't mine, but I didn't let go, and eventually, Lucario wrapped his arms around me as well.

"Hrmm," He hummed. I looked at him as he smiled at me; I smiled back and ruffled his hair. With that we turned and watched the battle.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

I watched Dawn walk off to talk to Lucario as Ash walked back to his spot on the field next to Pikachu and Gengar.

"Okay," Ash began, "Gible, come ba-"

But Ash was cut off when Pikachu leapt onto the field, cheeks sparking as he glared of Moltres.

"Pikachu? You want to battle again already?" Ash asked.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu exclaimed with a nod.

"Okay then!" Ash said with a smirk, "Pikachu! Use Thunder!"

Pikachu fired the electricity at Moltres, who launched into the sky and avoided the attack.

"Sunny Day!" Tobias exclaimed. Moltres hovered above the ground and began forming a glowing orange ball, after it grew really large, the flying type shot it up into the sky.

The puffy, white clouds that previously hovered in the sky began to move away, and the sun seemed to shine with a more intense heat. I wiped my brow as the temperature rose.

"Man! That Moltres sure turned up the heat!" Barry exclaimed, "He's just asking for a fine!"

"I hate weather changing moves..." Paul grumbled. "First Hail, now this..."

I rolled my eyes and turned back to the battle, the flames on Moltres began to burn much more brilliantly. "Moltres's fire attacks are going to be boosted now," Paul said, "At least, until the sun cools down a little."

"Pikachu! Use Quick Attack," Ash exclaimed.

"Fly high!" Tobias exclaimed. Moltres flew higher into the sky. "Agility!"

Moltres performed Agility, appearing in different places on the field.

"Sky Attack!" Tobias exclaimed.

"Quick Attack!" Ash shouted.

Moltres appeared high in the sky, where it began to dive at Pikachu, who started dashing away with Quick Attack.

"Flame Thrower!" Tobias shouted.

Moltres shot amazingly bright flames from its mouth, engulfing itself, it shined so brightly it could have been mistake for a shooting star. Moltres banked and flew after Pikachu with blinding speed, with a power explosion, the two collided. Dust went flying in every direction, even flying into the bleachers, causing us all to cough and fan our hand in front of our faces to blow away the dust. After several minutes, the dust finally settled, revealing Pikachu, who was knocked out on the ground, but Moltres didn't look too good either.

"Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed, running over to his best friend. He knelt down and picked up his electric mouse. He walked over to the bleachers where I was, handing me Pikachu. "Look after him for me," I smiled encouragingly and took him. Pikachu was still out, lying limp in my lap.

"Just give him some time to rest," Paul said, "He'll recover and wake up."

Pikachu grimaced, as if having a bad dream; tiny little sparks of electricity came from his cheeks. "Pi... Ka..." he groaned, but didn't wake up.

"Alright then!" Ash exclaimed, now standing back at his side of the battle field, he pulled out a Pokéball and tossed it into the air. "Gible! I choose you!"

The short, stubby dragon type appeared on the field, he looked tired, but still determined. "Gi-ble," Gible growled.

"Fly high and then use Roost!" Tobias exclaimed. Moltres, nodded and took to the sky, out of the range of any attacks. It began to glow a bright white, and recovered its health, but even after Roost it still looked tired.

I tilted my head. "I thought Roost restored all of a Pokémon's health," I said, Scott and Paul shook their heads.

"Nope, Roost can only restore so much health," Scott said, "Moltres therefore, has still been weaken."

I smiled, "So Pikachu and Lucario's efforts weren't completely diminished?" I asked.

"Yeah," Paul said.

"P-p-pika..." Pikachu groaned, still asleep in my lap. He began to fidget more and wriggle around. I grabbed him and hugged him close to my chest, as to prevent him from falling off my lap.

"Pikachu doesn't look to good," Barry said, examining the electric type, "Should we have him checked out?"

Scott leaned over and laid a hand on Pikachu's forehead. "He's not hot, he's probably just having a bad dream," he said. I looked down worriedly at the mouse.

"Gible! Use Dig!" Ash said.

Barry raised a brow. "What do you think Ash is doing? Dig won't affect Moltres," he said.

Paul shrugged, "My guess is that he's waiting for the Sunny Day to die down, that's Moltres's ultimate source of power." he said.

Gible did indeed simply stay underground as Moltres circled above, eventually Sunny Day's effect did diminish. I let out a sigh of relief as a cool breeze swept over me.

"Alright Gible, get out of there and use Dragon Pulse!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika..." Pikachu groaned again, this time a little menacingly, his cheeks sparked a little more widely.

"Pikachu?" I asked, shaking the electric type a little, but he didn't wake up.

Gible leapt out of his hole and fired a Dragon Pulse at the Moltres, hitting it head on. Moltres quickly recovered and flew back into the sky.

Ash pointed up at Moltres. "Alright, use-"

Pikachu whole body suddenly began to spark, his face curled into anger. In his sleep, he shouted "PIKA**CHUUUUUUUU**!"

And sparks flew.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

"Sky Attack!" I heard Tobias command a split second before I heard a horrible scream. I turned and saw huge flashes of light and electricity in the bleachers, in the center was Pikachu, who was asleep and releasing the electricity, and May, who had screamed.

Forgetting about the battle, I dashed towards the bleachers, but the field was so big. I watched as Barry jumped out of his seat and at May, grabbing Pikachu, and tumbling to the ground.

"Gible!" Gible exclaimed as he was hit by the Sky Attack, I turned to the field and saw he was knocked out.

_No time_, I thought, _got to get to Pikachu_.

I reached the bleachers and grabbed Pikachu from Barry, who was curled up on the ground blocking the electricity from hurting May. "Pikachu! Stop it!" I shouted, as much as the electricity hurt, I was used to it, the only people who had been electrocuted more than me was Team Rocket.

"Pikachu! It's me! Cut it out!" I exclaimed as I held Pikachu away from the others. "Pikachu!"

Suddenly the electricity ceased, I fell to my knees and opened my eyes, Pikachu was awake, still in my hands, looking around. He had a confused look on his face; he must not have known what had happened.

"Pikachu..." I said, I smiled weakly and hugged him, although still confused; Pikachu snuggled into my chest, moaning weakly. I turned around and saw Dawn, Lucario, Paul, and Scott all looking over Barry, who was on the ground. I walked over to him and knelt down.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked.

I waved it off. "Don't worry about it, buddy, I'll tell you later." I looked up at Scott, "Is he okay?"

Scott nudged Barry, who didn't move. A spark appeared as Scott touched him. "He took in a lot of electricity," he said, "His brain could be fried for all I know."

"Barry? Barry?" Dawn shouted, shaking him.

"We need to get the electricity out of him quickly, before he is seriously injured," Tobias said, walking up to us, "We need something that can absorb electricity."

Paul snapped his fingers. "I have an Electivire with the Motor Drive ability, he can absorb it."

Paul released Electivire and quickly told him what to do. Without the slightest hint of hesitation, Electivire knelt down by Barry and began to absorb the electricity in him. I walked over to May as Electivire absorbed the electricity in Barry. She was lying down on the bleacher, but unlike Barry she was awake, breathing heavily.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked, sitting down next to her head.

May cringed, "Hold on a minute," she said, she let out a burp, a few sparks of electricity came out of her mouth. She giggled, "May used Spark," she said.

I laughed and she sat up, smiling at Pikachu and scratching him under the chin. "You can be a real problem when you have a nightmare," she said as she scratched him.

"Gib?"

I looked down and saw Gible standing at my feet, he looked really tired. I picked him up and set him down on my lap. "Sorry about that, Gible," I said, "I got distracted." Gible nodded, seeming to accept my apology. He snuggled into my stomach and fell asleep.

"Gengar?" Gengar asked May, a slight frown on her face.

May smiled and ruffled Gengar's fur. "I'm fine, don't worry," she assured him, much to his relief.

"I'm glad your okay, but we should probably have Electivire absorb any electricity still running through your system." I told her.

May shook her head. "I'm fine, thanks for the concern though," she said, giving me a kiss. I could feel a slight shock as her lips touched mine.

"Right, we're going to still do it," I told her.

_"Barry!"_

We got up and walked over to Barry, who was just recovering from the major shock.

"Whoa... What happened?" Barry said, "I got a feeling someone's about to get fined..."

May knelt down next to him, explaining what happened to him. Barry recalled the event, remembering it well after May began to explain.

"Thanks for saving me," May said to him, smiling, "That was really brave of you."

Barry scratched the back of his head. "Aw shucks," he said, "A guy's got to do, what a guy's got to do."

May chucked, "I would hug you, but I don't know if I'm allowed."

Barry thought for a minute. "Just this one time," he said. May smiled and embraced him, which he returned.

"Consider us even," Barry said, "For yelling in your face and all that..."

It was good to see that the two were getting along.

We had Electivire absorb the electricity from May, who had taken in a surprising amount, and returned to the battle. Lucario and Dawn returned to sitting in the bleachers, May held onto Gible while Dawn held Pikachu.

"You ready for the next half of this battle, Ash?" Tobias said.

I smirked, "As I'll ever be!"

Tobias nodded, "Very good, choose your next Pokémon."

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

"Ash lost Gible, Lucario, and Pikachu, leaving him with Gengar, Totodile, and Charizard," Paul said, "Tobias has lost Darkrai and Latios, and has a weakened Moltres, and three other unknown Pokémon." He sighed, "The tables have turned."

I scoffed, "Ash still has this, he just needs to play his cards right," I said.

Ash unclipped a Pokéball, tossing it into the air. "Totodile! I choose you!" He exclaimed. The little blue Pokémon appeared on the field, doing his cute little entrance dance.

"An interesting choice," Tobias said, "A small little creature up against a mighty legendary?"

"What's Ash doing?" Dawn asked, "I know Totodile has a type advantage, but how can something so small stand a chance against the Pokémon that just wiped out half of Ash's team?"

Paul sighed, he didn't look to happy. "I think I know what he's up to, it isn't going to be pretty," he groaned.

I leaned forward, careful not to drop Gible, and looked at him. "How can you tell what others are going to do during a Pokémon Battle?"

Paul shrugged, "It's easy with Ash, I've seen what he likes to do, moves that his team has, stuff like that," Paul explained. I simply shrugged and turned back to the battle field.

"Alright Totodile, use Rain Dance!" Ash said. Totodile began to perform rain dance, a blue sphere appeared over his head, and shot into the sky. Clouds quickly began to billow over us in the sky, and it started raining like crazy.

"Sunny Day!" Tobias exclaimed. Moltres performed Sunny Day, and shot an orange sphere into the sky. As quickly as they came, the clouds disappeared and the rain stopped.

"Rain Dance!" Ash exclaimed.

"Oh dear Arceus," Paul groaned, "It's going to worse than I thought."

It quickly began to rain again. "Sunny Day!" Tobias shouted.

The rain stopped.

"Rain Dance!"

The rain returned.

"Sunny Day!"

And the rain went away.

"Rain Dance!"

It once again came back.

It was a bit confusing, being poured on by rain and then a split second later finding that the sun is blazing down with intense heat. The two battlers went back and forth for a while, much to Paul's dismay.

Eventually, Tobias let out a sigh. "You are a stubborn one Ash," he said, "I give up; I'll let you have your Rain Dance. Moltres, use Wing Attack!"

Sluggishly and clumsily, Moltres tried to attack Totodile, wings glowing brightly, but Totodile easily dodged.

"It's losing energy with the rain," Paul shouted over the pouring rain, "Ash might still have a chance!"

"Totodile, Use Ice Beam!" Ash exclaimed.

Totodile spun around to face Moltres and fired Ice Beam, hitting the legendary bird on the right wing. Ice began to encrust the tip of its wing, rendering it unable to fly. With a screech, Moltres fell to the ground with a thump.

"Try to break the ice!" Tobias shouted, Moltres slammed the frozen wing on the ground several times, but couldn't even crack it. And the sun wasn't out to melt the ice.

"Now's our chance, Totodile!" Ash exclaimed, "Use Skull Bash!"

Totodile dashed forward at his helpless opponent, ramming into it with such force, it actually fell on its back.

"Close range Hydro Pump!" Ash ordered. Totodile threw his head back and fired a powerful pillar of water at Moltres. With the boost of rain, there was no way Moltres would be able to withstand it.

When Totodile stopped the attack, Moltres was lying in a puddle of water, knocked out.

"Moltres is unable to battle," The referee said, "Ash and Totodile are the winners!"

"Yeah!" Barry shouted, "He took down Moltres!"

"It was like David and Goliath..." Dawn said, awestruck.

I cupped my hands around my mouth, "You're doing great, Ash!" I shouted.

"I wonder what Pokémon Tobias will use next," Barry said.

The rain wore off, dispersing and revealing the sun once more. "You've shown some impressive skills," Tobias said, "You have shown again and again how your determination and love for your Pokémon gives them enough strength to take down powerful legendaries."

Tobias unclipped another Pokémon, "But you still have three more Pokémon to go," he said, "Go! Cresselia!"

He tossed the Pokéball into the air and released his fourth Pokémon, this one was very elegant looking, its perfect curves formed a crescent shaped body, and crescent shaped head.

"Whoa..." I whispered in awe, "What I would give to use that in a contest..."

"_Cresselia, the Lunar Pokémon_." Barry's Pokédex said he must have pulled it out and scanned Cresselia, "_Shining particles are released from Cresselia's wings like a veil, and it is said to represent the crescent moon._"

Suddenly, Gible woke up from his little power nap, shaking his head and looking in the direction of the battle field.

"Ash beat Moltres," I told him, "isn't that great?"

Gible smiled and nodded. "Gi-ble!" he said excitedly.

Ash shook like a statue for a moment, gazing at the Cresselia. He appeared to be studying it, trying to come up with a way to defeat it. "Alright Totodile, are you ready?" Ash asked, Totodile nodded and growled, taking a battle stance.

"Use Slash!" Tobias ordered.

Cresselia swung her head, and with surprising speed, hit Totodile, knocking him to his back. He quickly got back up and glared at Cresselia.

"Rain Dance!" Ash exclaimed.

"Stop it!" Tobias shouted.

Totodile began to do his dance, but it was cut short when Cresselia rammed into him. "This isn't working," Ash mumbled, "Totodile, come back for a rest, I may need you later!" He said, pulling out his Pokéball and returning Totodile.

Ash turned to Gengar, who looked back with anticipation. "You ready to battle?" Ash asked him, Gengar nodded and floated to the field, gracefully landing on the ground. "Let's kick things off with a Shadow Ball!" Ash exclaimed.

"Dodge it!" Tobias ordered.

Cresselia began to spin around in circles around Gengar, making it impossible to hit her. "Slash!" Tobias said.

Cresselia stopped and once again swung her head; a razor sharp looking object flew at Gengar, but harmlessly passed through him. "I love it when people make that mistake," Ash said, "Shadow Ball!"

Gengar charged up the Shadow Ball and fired it at Cresselia, who had no time to dodge.

"Wow, even Tobias forgot Normal type attacks don't affect Ghost types," Paul said.

"I think Tobias is starting to feel the pressure," Scott said, "He's not used to losing, nobody has ever pushed him this far before. Now he may start make desperate attempts to stop Ash, and occasionally make mistakes."

Cresselia quickly recovered from the Shadow Ball and began to move around Gengar extremely fast, it would have been impossible to hit her.

... Except, of course, Gengar knew Shadow Punch.

"Gengar, use Shadow Punch!" Ash said.

Gengar threw his fist and a dark hand emerged from it, which magically followed Cresselia until it hit her. Tobias growled in annoyance.

"Hypnosis!" Ash ordered.

"Future Sight!" Tobias commanded.

Gengar lifted his hands and sent out yellow rings at Cresselia, whose eyes flashed a bright blue before being hit by the rings, putting her to sleep.

"Gengar," Ash said, "Come back!"

Gengar nodded and without question returned. "Totodile, use Crunch!" Ash said as he threw Totodile's ball into the air.

The water type appeared on the field, raced at Cresselia, and bit down on her.

"Again!"

Totodile bit down somewhere else.

"And again!"

Suddenly, a blue aura surrounded Totodile and it appeared as though he took a bit of damage.

"Future Sight must have taken effect," Dawn said.

"I don't get it," I began, "Why not just use Dream Eater? It's super powerful."

Scott chuckled. "Cresselia is a Psychic type, so Dream Eater wouldn't actually do much to her. Plus I think Ash didn't want Gengar to get badly hurt by a super effective Future Sight. Totodile can take the attack much better."

"Switch, you guys," Ash said, Gengar shot back onto the field and Totodile ran up to Ash's side, rather than going back into his Pokéball. At this point, Cresselia had woken back up.

"Gengar, use Hypnosis again," Ash said.

"Future Sight once more!" Tobias said in response.

Gengar once again sent rings out at Cressila, whose eyes flashed, signaling Future Sight had been activated, and she once again fell asleep.

"Switch!" Ash said, "Totodile, use Crunch on Cresselia as many times as you can before she wakes up!"

Totodile nodded and leapt at Cresselia, use Crunch in different places.

"And now that I think about it, Crunch is a Dark type move," Scott said, "So it is super effective against Cresselia."

Totodile once again was surrounded by an eerie aura and took some damage.

"Ash better watch out," Paul said, "I doubt Totodile can take another Future Sight, he needs to divert to another plan if he wants to save Totodile."

"Switch again!" Ash said, "Gengar, let's try Ominous Wind!"

Gengar threw his head back and prepared to attack, but when he did, only a purple puff came out of his mouth. "Dang it, I knew we should have mastered that move before this battle," Ash said.

"Cresselia, Use Aurora Beam!" Tobias shouted. Cresselia threw her head back and fired the Aurora Beam at Gengar. She nailed him, and even worse, froze him, a thick layer of ice surrounded Gengar, preventing him from moving.

...

"So... Is Gengar out?" Dawn asked.

I scratched my head. "Wait, Gengar is a ghost, he can control whether or not he's solid, can't he just-"

Gengar floated through the ice, leaving an outer hallow layer.

"-go through it..." I finished.

Without a command from Ash, Gengar threw his head back again and fired a powerful blast of purple wind at Cresselia, sending her flying.

"Hey! That's Ominous Wind! Gengar must have just mastered it!" Barry exclaimed.

Gengar began to glow, the glow grew brighter and brighter before exploding a burst of sparkles.

"Even better, he got the stat boosts from it, what luck!" Paul said. Dawn and I looked at him for a clearer explanation. "You see on rare occasions, Ominous Wind will boost all Pokémon stats, speed, attack, defense, everything." Paul said.

"Shadow Punch!" Ash said.

"Future Sight!" Tobias said.

A mere second before Gengar's Shadow Punch nailed Cresselia, her eyes flashed. She was then hit by the Shadow Ball, and the super effective move knocked her out.

...

"Cresselia is unable to battle," The referee said, "The winner is Ash Ketchum and his Gengar."

"That puts Ash ahead again!" Dawn said giddily.

"Yes, but again, both Totodile and Gengar are both really tired, especially Totodile, who took two Future Sights," Paul said, "Besides, I hardly expect Tobias's final two Pokémon to be easy."

"You never cease to amaze me," Tobias said, "Let's see how you like this Pokémon!"

Tobias threw out another Pokéball, "Go! Terrakion!" the Pokéball snapped open and with a thud that shook the stadium, a large bull like Pokémon appeared on the stage.

"Hey," Barry began, pulling out his Pokédex again. "I've never heard of that Pokémon before."

Paul squinted at the Pokémon. "I think it's from Unova," he said.

"_Terrakion, the Cavern Pokémon_," the Pokédex said, "_Its charge is strong enough to break through a giant castle wall in one blow. This Pokémon is spoken of in legends_."

"Wow, sounds powerful," Dawn said, "I'm glad I'm not the one fighting it."

"Gengar, Totodile, Switch!" Ash said.

The two Pokémon once again switched. I felt bad for little Totodile, who had to face a giant Terrakion.

"Hydro Pump!" Ash exclaimed.

Terrakion must not have been one for speed, because Totodile hit him head on with the attack. But it was cut short when the aura from Cresselia's last Future Sight appeared and attacked Totodile. The little blue water type couldn't handle the attack and fell over, knocked out.

Ash sighed and walked over to Totodile, kneeling down next to him; he cradled Totodile in his arms and congratulated him on the job well done. He walked the water type over to the bleachers and handed him to Barry, who set him down on his lap.

"Why don't you return Totodile and Gible to their Pokéballs for a rest like you normally do?" Dawn asked.

Ash smiled and adjusted his cap, "Because I want them to see our victory." With that, he walked back over to his proper spot on the field.

"Looks like it's up to Gengar and Charizard now," Scott said, "Ash better have something clever prepared."

"He must have something up his sleeve," Dawn said.

"Gengar got the stat boots from Ominous Wind, so he should be good to go," Barry added.

"Well, even if Totodile took the majority of the attacks, Gengar still got some damage," Paul said, "He's not fresh, luckily, Totodile did land that final Hydro Pump on Terrakion, so maybe that will even things out."

"Work Up!" Tobias exclaimed.

Terrakion let out a low growl, and began to glow. In a flash of light, the glowing disappeared and revealed the super charged Terrakion. It let out another growl and scraped his foot on the ground, as if preparing to charge.

"Stone Edge!" Tobias ordered.

White orbs began to circle around Terrakion, but they looked a bit larger than normal. With another growl, it launched the rocks at Gengar, pulverizing the Ghost type.

"Gengar!" Gengar exclaimed angrily.

"Use Shadow Ball!" Ash said.

"Deflect it with Protect!" Tobias said, Terrakion surrounded himself in a protective shield.

"Smack Down!" Tobias commanded.

Terrakion slammed his horn into the ground, causing a huge chunk of hard dirt to fly at Gengar, who was hit by the attack.

The Ghost type once again stood up, but something was wrong. Gengar attempted to float in the air, but he simply jumped and landed back on the ground.

"Rock Smash eliminates Gengar's ability to levitate and fly around," Scott said, "He's stuck on the ground for now."

"Great job, Terrakion, Now use Earthquake!" Tobias said.

The ground began to shake, knocking Gengar to his back and causing him to flop around like a Magikarp. "Gengar won't be able to take many more hits," Paul said, "Ash better do something."

"Hypnosis!" Ash exclaimed.

The ground stopped shaking and Gengar tiredly rose to his feet. His eyes began to glow and he sent out yellow rings at Terrakion, knocking the bull like Pokémon to sleep.

"Let's get back some health!" Ash said, "Dream Eater!"

Gengar ran forward towards the sleeping Terrakion, running straight through it and using Dream Eater. The attack stole Terrakion's energy and was given to Gengar. Terrakion woke up and rose to his feet, not looking quite as energized as he had before. Gengar on the other hand, looked a little refreshed, he still couldn't levitate though.

Tobias dramatically pointed at Gengar, shouting "Stone Edge!"

"Shadow Ball!" Ash said in response.

Terrakion prepared Stone Edge while Gengar charged up Shadow Ball. The two threw their attack at each other, but they collided.

Oddly, the Stones where sent flying in random directions, falling harmlessly to the ground, while Shadow Ball simply shot through them, ramming into Terrakion.

"Alright Gengar, let's wrap this up!" Ash said, "Use Shadow Punch!"

"Earthquake!" Tobias shouted.

Gengar sent out a Shadow Punch as the earth began to shake. The attack hit Terrakion, causing him to groan in pain. Eventually, Earthquake subsided, leaving both Pokémon alone to just stare at each other.

Both grunted, and fell over onto the ground, knocked out.

"Both Gengar and Terrakion are unable to battle," the referee said, "This round ends in a draw."

I watched Ash pick up Gengar off the field as Tobias returned Terrakion. He carried the ghost type over to the bleachers. "You did great, Gengar," Ash said, "You sure showed him who's boss."

Gengar smiled and nodded, seeming to be satisfied with his efforts. Ash handed him over to me, setting him down in my lap with Gible. Of course, Gengar immediately got off my lap and perched himself on my head.

"You were awesome," I told Gengar, "Good job."

Ash walked back to the field taking his place on the side designated for the trainer to stand.

"Well Ash, I never dreamed you would make it this far," Tobias said, "You definitely have proven yourself more than you can imagine." He raised his hand and waved it in the air, as if signaling something. "But this battle ends here."

Suddenly, we heard an amazingly loud roar, which overpowered even the speakers. The building vibrated as the loud noise rang through the air.

A shadow appeared on the ground as Tobias's final Pokémon fell from the sky and down to the massive field. Letting out a final roar, the Pokémon took a battle stance, ready to literally destroy whatever Ash sent out.

"Oh man..." Dawn whispered.

"Ash is screwed..." Paul groaned.

"Scott wasn't kidding when he said Tobias was desperate," Barry said.

_Ash_... I thought, _How are you going to beat that?  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>So you know that part where I said this battle would be two chapters long?<strong>

**I lied.**

**I honestly did think I would be able to finish up the battle in this chapter, but half way through the chapter I was like "Pfft, yeah right."**

**So yeah, this battle will conclude in part 3. :D**

**So who do you think Tobias's finally Pokémon is? Do you think Charizard will be able to defeat it?**

**So that was a lot of battling. I am totally going to be "battled out" when this is all over.**

**Leave a review! *Insert reason here.***

**Oh, I may not update next Friday, schedule is killing me.**

**Toodles,**  
><strong>The Shiny Gengar<strong>


	37. Chapter 37: The Epic Battle Part 3

**Chapter 37: The Epic Battle Part 3**

* * *

><p><strong>So I stumbled across the Twilight section of fanfiction (don't ask) and it is insane. There are so many stories, and so many people review them. I saw a story with like, over 2000 reviews. My mind was blown.<strong>

**No, I don't read Twilight, I'd never sink to that level.**

**I don't own Pokémon**

* * *

><p><strong>Dawn's POV<strong>

After Ash's battle with Tobias, Paul went off to train a little because he would be battling Tobias later in the evening. If the training doesn't revolve around contest, watching Paul and his Pokémon practice bored me, I couldn't understand how May was able to sit through Ash's training sessions. I decided to take a walk through the forest by myself; it wasn't like I had anything better to do. With the Grand Festival over, I felt my Pokémon and I deserved a break from training. It wasn't like there were any contests I was going to be entering super soon, the season was over.

Thinking about that made me wonder what would happen after Ash and Paul got all their frontier prints... That is... If they managed to beat Tobias. _I will definitely travel with Paul_, I thought, _no matter where he goes, but what if he left it up to me? Where would I go?_

"You've never been to Kanto," Someone said.

I thought for a minute. "That's true..." Suddenly, my eyes widened and I looked around frantically. "Wait, who said that? Show yourself!"

"It's been a while, Dawn," The mystery person said.

I spun around and saw who had been speaking. "You!" I exclaimed

* * *

><p><strong>Earlier that day: May's PO<strong>V

"Well Ash, I never dreamed you would make it this far," Tobias said, "You definitely have proven yourself more than you can imagine." He raised his hand and waved it in the air, as if signaling something. "But this battle ends here."

Suddenly, we heard an amazingly loud roar, which overpowered even the speakers. The building vibrated as the loud noise rang through the air.

A shadow appeared on the ground as Tobias's final Pokémon fell from the sky and down to the massive field. Letting out a final roar, the Pokémon took a battle stance, ready to literally destroy whatever Ash sent out.

"Oh man..." Dawn whispered.

"Ash is screwed..." Paul groaned.

"Scott wasn't kidding when he said Tobias was desperate," Barry said.

_Ash_... I thought, _How are you going to beat that?_

On the field, a large serpentine creature hovered above the ground. It had six black streamers attached to its back, its belly was striped black and red. Its head was covered in a golden mask, where its eerie red eyes were glowing behind it. On its sides, spikes with golden tips stuck out.

"What is that..." I asked in a hushed voice.

Dawn's lip quivered, "That's Giratina..." she replied quietly.

I pulled out my Pokédex and scanned the large legendary on the field. "_Giratina, the Renegade Pokémon,_" it began, "_Said to be banished for its violence; it silently watches the Pokémon World from its home in the Distortion World_."

"_Banished for its violence_?'" Barry repeated, "Ash **is**screwed."

"Giratina isn't like Tobias's other Pokémon," Paul said, "It's much more powerful, Ash won't be able to defeat it."

A shadow shot across the field I looked up but the sky was empty. Tobias let out an amused laugh. "You're probably wondering how I got my hands on Giratina," he began, "Technically, I didn't catch him, but he's definitely grown attached to me, isn't that right, Giratina?"

Giratina threw his head back and let out a roar in agreement. Ash scratched his head, "Why is he in his Origin Form? He isn't in the distortion world."

Tobias chuckled again. "Ah, after a lot of searching, I found the precious Griseous Orb, which keeps him in that form," Giratina tilted his head so he could see the orb attached to the back of his mask on his forehead; it sparkled brightly in the sunlight. "Now, enough talk; call out your last Pokémon."

I clenched my fist as my face darkened with anger. "That's not fair!" I shouted, standing up out of my seat, "There is no way this is legal!"

"Yeah!" Dawn agreed, "Use a different Pokémon!"

"Or I'll fine you!" Barry added.

…

Tobias looked over at Ash, sighing and nodding. "They're right," he said, "I was acting rashly, I'll use another-"

"Wait!" Ash called out, a smirk on his face, "I want to battle Giratina."

"**WHAT?**" Barry exclaimed, everyone else look surprised as well, "Is he crazy?"

Tobias blinked in surprise. "O-okay then..." he said, "Call out your Pokémon."

Ash chuckled and twisted his cap backwards. "Let's do this," he said.

Suddenly, another roar filled the air. The clouds in the sky floated away, and even the sun seemed to tremble at the noise.

"W-what was that?" Barry asked. Suddenly, a blur of green shot down from the sky and slithered onto the field. It opened its large jaw and let out another roar.

"Rayquaza!" I squealed happily, never had I felt so relieved to see the Pokémon.

Paul smirked, "Oh this should be interesting," he said.

Tobias stood on the field gaping in surprise. "Oh my," he said, "When did you meet a Rayquaza?"

Ash laughed, "Sorry to disappoint you," he said, "But I've already met Giratina too, isn't that right, Giratina?"

Giratina let out another roar, one which Rayquaza replied fiercely to.

"Alright then," Tobias said, "Let's begin."

"Let's," Ash agreed, "Rayquaza! Use Extreme Speed!"

Rayquaza shot forward at Giratina like a speeding bullet, but upon contact, Giratina became transparent, and Rayquaza flew straight through him.

Tobias began to laugh. "Looks like I'm not the only one who forgot Normal type attacks don't affect Ghost types," he said.

My face twisted into confusion. "Giratina is a ghost type?" I asked.

"Giratina is a Dragon and Ghost type," Paul said, "What did you think it was?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, a Dark type or something," I replied.

"Giratina, Use Shadow Force!" Tobias ordered, Giratina responded and disappeared.

"_...!_Where did he go?" I asked.

"Oh no you don't," Ash said, "Rayquaza, Fly!"

Rayquaza nodded and shot up into the sky, disappearing from sight. In a flash Giratina reappeared, dashing forward and emitting powerful energy, but was surprised to find Rayquaza was no longer there. Suddenly, Rayquaza shot down from the sky and rammed into Giratina, causing it to let out a loud roar.

"That's gonna leave a mark," Barry said.

Giratina quickly recovered and let out a low, intimidating, angry growl, which Rayquaza responded to with a growl of his own.

"There's quite a tension between the two Pokémon," Dawn observed, "I wonder why."

Scott shrugged, "Maybe they just want to prove who is stronger."

"Dragon Breath!" Tobias ordered. Giratina charged up and threw his head back, firing a greening flame at Rayquaza.

"Deflect it with Hyper Voice!" Ash said.

Rayquaza threw his head back and released an extremely loud roar. The sound waves where so powerful I could see them push away the green flames.

"Ancient Power!" Tobias shouted. Large glowing orbs surrounded Giratina. The orbs dimmed and turned to sharp stones which were flung at Rayquaza. The flying Dragon type was pelted by the stones, causing it to roar in annoyance. Suddenly, Rayquaza shot forward and grabbed Giratina, slamming him into the ground.

"Hey! Ash didn't tell Rayquaza to do that!" I exclaimed.

Giratina roared in angry and disappeared, freeing himself from Rayquaza's grip. Rayquaza looked around, trying to find Giratina. Suddenly, the Ghost type appeared and slammed into Rayquaza.

"What's going on?" Barry asked, "Rayquaza and Giratina aren't listening to Ash and Tobias!"

Scott scratched his chin in a thinking manner. "Well, they're both extremely powerful Pokémon," he began, "Anything at their power doesn't have to listen to any trainer, no matter how respectable they are. I think Rayquaza became blinded by rage and began to go off on his own fight, same goes for Giratina."

"Scatter!" Paul shouted. Rayquaza had once again grabbed Giratina and this time shot into the sky, now rocketing downward at us. We all screamed and got off the bleachers, dashing away.

The two legendary Pokémon slammed into the bleachers; knocking me to my feet as I barely avoided being crushed by them. Giratina roared again, which was even more deafening up so close to him, before thrusting Rayquaza off of him and onto the field. Giratina flew upward preparing to attack Rayquaza again.

"Is everyone okay?" Scott asked.

I got up and brushed myself off. "I-I'm fine," I stammered, glancing over at where Rayquaza had slammed Giratina into, the bleachers were now nothing but broken and twisted pieces of metal.

"I have half a mind to fine Rayquaza," Barry huffed as he brushed his hands on his pants.

"Rayquaza! Snap out of it!" Ash shouted, "Come on! Listen to me!"

But Rayquaza ignored Ash and grabbed Giratina again, spinning around and letting go, throwing Giratina into the set of bleachers on the other side of the stadium.

"Rayquaza!" Ash shouted as loud of he could, his voice echoing through the speakers loudly. Rayquaza froze and turned and glanced at Ash. He let out a roar and shot up into the air, coming back down and floating in front of Ash, taking a battle stance.

"Ash got Rayquaza's attention again," Paul said.

"Giratina! You too, get back over here!" Tobias exclaimed. But Giratina ignored him and let out an extremely loud roar of rage, his blazing eyes glaring at Rayquaza.

"Barry, what did the Pokédex say about Giratina?" Paul asked.

"Um... It was '_Banished for its violence_'..." Barry answered.

_Oh man_, I thought, _we're in trouble_.

Giratina shot forward at Rayquaza, no longer under the control of Tobias. "Rayquaza, Fly to dodge!" Ash ordered. Rayquaza didn't hesitate to fire into the air, high into the sky.

"Ash! I can't get Giratina to listen to me!" Tobias said, "It's up to Rayquaza to stop him!"

Rayquaza flew down from the sky and was about to attack Giratina, but the ghost type disappeared. Rayquaza looked surprised and frantically glanced around. Giratina reappeared and quickly rammed into Rayquaza, knocking the green dragon type over.

"Rayquaza! I have an idea!" Ash shouted, "Grab me and fly high!"

"What!" I exclaimed, I jumped up and leapt onto the field, running at Ash, but the field was so dang big. Rayquaza got up and flew towards Ash, who turned and looked at me, flashing me a smile and a thumbs up before being picked up and carried high into the sky.

"No!" I shouted.

* * *

><p><strong>Ash's POV<strong>

Rayquaza quickly got up from the ground and flew at me, I turned towards my friends and saw May frantically running towards me. Hoping to reassure her, I smiled and gave her a thumbs up. I felt Rayquaza grab me and lift me into the sky. I looked down and saw the ground shrinking below us, May was shouting something.

"Trust me, May," I whispered, "I know what I'm doing."

Looking in the other direction, I saw Giratina chase after us. He left out an angry screech as he sped up, trying to gain on us.

"Alright, when I whistle, catch me!" I shouted to Rayquaza, hoping to overpower the wind rushing past us. Rayquaza looked at me confused, as if I was crazy. "I know what I'm doing!" I told him, "Now, on the count of three," I glanced down at Giratina, "I want you to drop me!"

Rayquaza let out a roar of disapproval, but I counted anyways. "1... 2..." I held my breath and clenched my eyes shut, "3!"

Rayquaza reluctantly let go of me, and I began to free fall towards Giratina. I grabbed the angry Pokémon's golden mask and clung to it tightly. Giratina didn't seem to notice me at all, so I simply continued with my plan. My eyes fell upon the Griseous Orb attached to the mask on his head. Not wanting to let go, I used my feet to detach the orb, which popped off with a click, and fell towards the earth.

Giratina began to glow; he was changing into his other form. Knowing that I had done what I wanted to, I let go of Giratina and fell again. I stuck my index finger and my thumb in my mouth and let out a loud whistle.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

I paced back and forth, occasionally glancing up at the sky. I let out an annoyed and worry groan, "Where is he?" I asked no one in particular.

Ever since Ash, Rayquaza, and Giratina had disappeared high in the atmosphere, nobody had taken their eyes away from sky. Suddenly, we noticed a golden stone fall from the sky. It fell into the center to the field where it was embedded in the dirt.

"T-that's the Griseous Orb," Tobias said.

"Look!" Barry exclaimed, pointing upward, "It's Rayquaza!"

I looked up hopefully and indeed saw the large, green legendary flying straight downward. I let out a sigh of relief, "He's got Ash!" I shouted, Ash was indeed riding Rayquaza's back.

Rayquaza banked before hitting the ground and looking up. We saw Giratina fall from the sky, now in his other form. With a loud crash, the Ghost type landed on the ground hard. Giratina let out a groan before swirls appeared over his eyes, and his body fell limp.

"Giratina is unable to battle," The referee said in disbelief, "The winner of this match goes to Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!"

...

...

...

"Gengar! Gengar! Gengar!" Gengar broke the silence, dancing around happily, he snapped everyone else back to their senses.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu squealed joyfully.

"Tote!" Totodile sang, dancing about with Gengar.

"Gib! Gible!" Gible said, running over to Ash and happily biting down on the trainer's head, causing Ash to yelp in surprise.

"Hrrm," Lucario grunted happily, a smile on his face.

I dashed towards Ash and leapt into the air, catching him by surprise and tackling him to the ground.

"You did it!" I said joyfully.

Ash smiled excitedly, hardly able to contain his enthusiasm. "Yeah! We totally-"

He was cut off as I kissed him, ignoring Gible, who was still biting Ash's head. The kiss was cut short when I felt something jumping on my back. "Gen-Gar-Gen-Gar!"

After throwing him a playful glare, Gengar got off me, allowing Ash and I to stand up. The second Ash was back on his feet he was knocked back over by Gengar, and was quickly joined by Pikachu, Lucario and Totodile. Ash laughed and hugged his Pokémon, thanking them all for doing such an excellent job battling.

"I have to admit Ash," Barry began, approaching us, "I didn't think you were going to beat Tobias, but you pulled through!"

"Yeah, Ash," Dawn agreed, "You were awesome!"

We heard a loud beeping, turning around, we saw a large truck backing up to Giratina, several Nurse Joys were already hard at work to heal the passed out Pokémon. Tobias, who had been watching the process, turned around and walked over to Ash.

"Well Ash," he began with a chuckle, "That was quite the battle, I really enjoyed it." he pulled a piece of paper "I would have given this to you for beating Darkrai with just Gible, but I wanted to see how far you would make it through my team. Amazingly, you totally defeated me." Tobias handed Ash the final frontier print, which he took. The print was gold, and had an image of the Battle Kingdom in the back. It had a picture of Tobias and Darkrai on the right side while a picture of Ash and all of his Pokémon, including Rayquaza, were on the other side.

"Wow," Ash said, "Thank you so much."

Tobias chuckled, "No problem," he turned to Paul, "My Pokémon require healing, but when they are ready, you and I will have our battle."

Dawn tilted her head, "Will it be a six on six round again?"

Tobias shook his head. "No, I do one on one battles, I was simply testing Ash and his Pokémon," he explained. With that, he spun around and walked away, following the large truck now hauling Giratina away.

Scott walked up to us, holding a large frame. "Ash, I'd like to reward you with this frame of honor, so that you can proudly show that you defeated all the Frontier Brains of the Johto Region," he said.

Ash took the frame, admiring it. "Cool," he said, "I'll put my Frontier Prints in this and send it to Mom." With that, he dashed off towards the exit of the battle field, his Pokémon and I following close behind.

* * *

><p><strong>Present Time: May's POV<strong>

Ash and I were sitting on the ground, outside the Battle Kingdom eating sandwiches, our Pokémon playing around in the distance, and Rayquaza curled up on the ground napping.

"So, what's going to happen to Rayquaza?" I asked, glancing at the slumbering legendary.

Ash took a bite of his sandwich, shrugging. "I don't know," he said with a mouth full of food, "I guess that's up to Rayquaza."

"He hasn't flown off yet," I said, "And he has apparently been following us around."

Ash nodded, "Yeah, I don't think he's going anywhere."

"Are you going to let him?" I asked, "Rayquaza is a powerful force, and one that can slip out of your control."

Ash sighed and shrugged, "If Rayquaza continues to follow us, I'm not going to stop him," he said, "Besides, how would I anyways?"

I shrugged. "Good point," I admitted, "I just hope it doesn't cause too much trouble."

Ash laughed, "How bad can a legendary be?"

...

"Well, if I'm recalling this correctly, he almost destroyed Olivine City," I reminded him.

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

We sat in the bleachers once again, the day had grown old and the sky was colored and orange pink.

"You got this, Paul!" Dawn shouted.

Paul and Tobias were about to have their one on one battle. I was confident in Paul's ability to battle; it was my safety I was worried about. I glanced over at the destroyed bleachers from earlier, causing me to shiver. Ash noticed my shiver and wrapped a reassuring arm around my shoulder, smiling warmly.

"This will be a one on one battle," The referee said, "Will each trainer call out their Pokémon?"

Tobias enlarged a Pokéball and threw it into the air. "Darkrai, go!" he exclaimed. The familiar Darkrai appeared on the field, taking a battle stance.

"Oh this is going to be so cool!" Dawn said giddily. She had been acting extremely perky ever since she had returned from her walk, what was she so happy about?

Paul studied Darkrai for a minute before unclipping a Pokéball from his belt and enlarging it. "Electivire, I need your-"

But before Paul could finish the sentence, or throw the Pokéball, something fell from the sky, uplifting tons of dust.

"What was that?" Ash exclaimed, standing up in his seat, trying to get a better view. The dust suddenly dispersed in random directions, revealing a familiar light purple Pokémon.

I gasped, "It's Mewtwo..."

"Yeah!" Dawn exclaimed, "Kick his butt you guys!"

"Mew-Mewtwo?" Paul stammered in disbelief.

Mewtwo turned to Paul, "You are the one Dawn seems to love so dearly, _right_?"

Paul's face went red. "Yeah... That would be me..." he murmured.

"Good," Mewtwo grunted, "It's not often I battle in these senseless competitions. I'm only here by the request of Dawn."

We all turned and looked at Dawn, who had a big, goofy grin on her face.

"I will obey your commands this once," Mewtwo said, "You better not disappoint me."

Paul scratched his head. "Um... I'm honored..." he said.

The entire conversation, Tobias had been marveling at Mewtwo, astounded by the Psychic type. "So that's the legendary Mewtwo..." Tobias murmured, "This will be interesting."

"Aright, begin!" The referee shouted.

"Darkrai, let's kick this off with Dark Pulse!" Tobias shouted.

"Mewtwo, use... Err..." Paul pulled out his Pokédex and checked Mewtwo's moves. Mewtwo simply sidestepped and dodged the attack.

"Psystrike?" Paul asked more than commanded.

Mewtwo smirked, "Oh, so you're looking for a quick battle," he said, "I have no complaints."

Suddenly, Mewtwo charged forward with amazing power at Darkrai. With a mighty flash of light, the two Pokémon collided. When the light faded, Mewtwo stood on the opposite side of the field, Darkrai hadn't moved, he seemed completely unaffected.

"YOU FOOL!" Mewtwo exclaimed, flying over at Paul. "YOU FORGOT PSYCHIC ATTACKS DON'T WORK ON DARK TYPES!"

"Hey! You forgot too," Paul defended, "And you **ARE **a psychic type!"

...

"We are wasting time," Mewtwo grumbled, turning back to Darkrai. "Don't screw up again."

Paul blinked and few times and glanced back down at his Pokédex, reading over Mewtwo's moves. "Do an Aura Sphere..." he said.

...

"_Please_?"

"That's more like it," Mewtwo said, he charged up an Aura Sphere, but this one was far larger than any Aura Sphere I had ever seen. He fired it at Darkrai, who was too slow to dodge, and in another bright flash of light, the attack collided. When the light faded and the dust settled, Darkrai was on the ground, unconscious.

"One. Flipping. Hit." Barry said in surprise, "Awesome."

Dawn squealed and ran down to the field and to Paul and Mewtwo, tackling the trainer to the ground and kissing him.

I winced, "is that really what it looks like when I tackle Ash?"

Barry nodded, "Yep pretty much."

* * *

><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

We all stood at the entrance of the Battle Kingdom, Mewtwo and Rayquaza included. Scott and Tobias were facing us all.

"So, I know I've asked you two this before," Scott said, referring to Ash and Paul, "But would either of you be interested in becoming a Frontier Brain? We could use battlers like you."

Ash and I exchanged glances; I knew we were both thinking the same thing. "There is still a whole world out there to explore," Ash said, "Pokémon to discover, friends to meet..."

"Food to eat," I added.

"I want to see everything," Ash continued, "I want to be the very best."

Tobias laughed, "You definitely proved that today."

Ash smiled, "Yeah, but I still need to become a Pokémon Master," he turned to Scott, "Maybe someday I'll take you up on your offer, but for now, I want to travel."

Paul nodded. "Same here," he said, "I still have a lot to learn."

Scott smiled and nodded. "Whatever you say," he said, "Just don't be shy to ask, any time."

Ash stuck out his hand, "You can count on that," he said. Scott grabbed his hand and shook it. With that, we walked a little bit away from them and all grabbed Mewtwo, and in a flash of light, he teleported us back the Pokémon Center in Blackthorn City.

"Now if that is all," Mewtwo said, "I must be off."

Dawn nodded sadly and hugged Mewtwo. "Visit me often," she whispered to him. For once, Mewtwo smiled, and hugged Dawn back.

"I will," he said, he began to glow but didn't let go of Dawn. In a flash of light, he disappeared.

"_I promise.._."

Dawn sighed and wiped a tear from her eye, Paul and Lucario did their best to comfort her.

Suddenly, Gengar's ears perked up. "Gen?" he asked, his face lit up, "Gengar!" he flew into the Pokémon Center and disappeared into its kitchen. We heard Nurse Joy scream and several pots and pans crash.

Ash sighed and chuckled, "I'll go get him."

* * *

><p><strong>Thus ends the final chapter.<strong>

**Yes.**

**Actually, I'll probably post a short epilogue in a few days, kind of just to wrap up this story properly. So yeah...**

**I started writing this story back in June, I think. 200,000 words later (O.o) This became one of the 10 longest Advanceshipping fics on fanfiction (and possibly the Internet, I'm too lazy to look) Not an achievement I was planning on trying to get when I started writing this. I didn't know how long this would run, but definitely didn't think over 200k words.**

**It's been a crazy ride, but an awesome experience, I've met so many cool people and learned so many things, but for the sake of your sanity, I will only be talking about the top 3 things I learn. So writers who are thinking about writing an advanceshipping fanfiction: PAY ATTENTION.**

**Ahem.**

**Rule #1: First person is a big no-no**

**Never, never, never, NEVER write a story in first person unless it is absolutely necessary. ALWAYS USE THIRD PERSON. It is so much easier to work with, and is much more professional. If I ever rewrite this story (Haha, rewriting 200k words, yeah right) I would take away the first person and change it ALL to third person.**

**Rule #2: Leave room for the reader's imagination, don't be too specific.**

**One of the biggest complaints I got in this story was the fact that I specified that Ash, May, and Dawn were ten years old. Although I was trying to stick as close to the anime as possible, I do see where it didn't work. Basically, I've just learned to not get too into detail about a characters age, clothing, social security number, etc unless it is really necessary.**

**Rule #3: Be unique**

**I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but half the stuff I read on this site is the same, not carbon copy same but same concept. How many stories are there were the characters are rock stars or high school students? Or Ash disappears for seven years? Or there's a corny reunion in Pallet Town?**

**Too many.**

**Write something different! The theme of this site is "Unleash your imagination!" but nobody is doing that if we are just using everyone else's simple ideas.**

**Be. Flipping. Different.**

**I wrote an AU high school advanceshipping fiction. Yeah, and it turned out okay, I tried to do a few things to the characters to spice things up but I still don't find it unique enough to really boast about. I would say my other fics I've done recently are a lot more unique, as I wrote them after I discovered Rule #3**

**So yeah, if you have questions about these you can PM me or leave a review. Don't feel offended about this, I'm not aiming this at anyone or trying to bash someone, I just want to help.**

**Whew... So yeah, stay tuned for the epilogue, got a few things to say there too.**

**The Shiny Gengar**


	38. Chapter 38: Epilogue

**Chapter 38: Epilogue**

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><p><strong>The final chapter... So sad. But don't get too down in the dumps, I'm not done on fanfiction yet. I'll be posting some pretty sweet stuff later, but I'll talk about that at the Author's Note at the end of the chapter, among other things.<strong>

**Being that this is an epilogue, it will be shorter than my other chapters, don't be too surprised by the shortness, this is kind of just here to end the story in a more satisfying way.**

**So yeah...**

**I don't own Pokémon**

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><p><strong>May's POV<strong>

Wind rushed past and whipped my hair about, it was a good thing I was behind Ash, or it would have been all in his face. We sat on Rayquaza, who was flying through the sky, high above the ground. Ash sat in front of me gripping Rayquaza while I sat behind him, arms wrapped tightly around him. Pikachu was in Ash's lap, Lucario was behind me, hugging me tightly as to not fall off, and Gengar had perched himself on Rayquaza's head. We were on our way home, or Pallet Town in my case. Ash and I would be stopping there, and then flying over to Petalburg City in Hoenn to see my family. I had talked to my parents over the television phone and told them about Ash and I, which they seemed okay with. It had been a while since I had seen them so I figured I would have a short visit. After that, Ash and I would be going off on another adventure.

The day after Ash and Paul's victory at the Battle Kingdom, we all packed our bags and prepared to go our own ways, meaning Dawn and Paul would be leaving as well. At the beginning of this journey through Johto, I would have never guessed I would feel gloomy when Dawn and I parted ways, and even though I didn't know Paul too well, I knew I would miss him and his emotionless face eventually.

And then there was Barry, who also left Blackthorn. He said his goodbyes and told us he would fine us if we didn't meet up sometime soon. With that, he dashed down the road out of sight, that boy really liked to run.

After exchanging a few goodbyes with Dawn and Paul, we hopped onto Rayquaza and flew off. They hadn't decided where they were going to travel yet. They had planned on going back to Sinnoh to see their families, and then decide on where to go.

I adjusted my grip on Ash and laid my head down on his back, sighing deeply as I watched clouds rush by. "You doing okay, May?" Ash asked.

I nodded, "Yeah, I'm just enjoying the peace."

Ash laughed, "Yeah, we haven't had much of that lately."

It's funny how things can take such a turn. To think that when we first arrived in Johto, Dawn and I hated each other guts. Now we were great friends.

Thinking about our rivalry brought back thoughts of our journey through Johto. We had to help Professor Elm find his missing starter Pokémon, that's where I got Chikorita and were Ash caught an aggressive shiny Spearow. We found the starters and continued on our journey. We ran into the trainer Brendan, who was struggling to control his Haunter. We discovered Ash's shiny Spearow liked Brendan and that Brendan's Haunter liked Ash. So they traded the Pokémon, and Haunter evolved into Gengar, a playful Pokémon which we all grew very attached to.

Dawn and I were constantly making each other miserable, hurting and embarrassing each other as much as we could. I ruined Dawn's hair before a contest and in return, she knocked me out and tied me to a tree, causing me to miss my round, and thus not make it into the contest.

Ash also was finding Battle Facilities and challenging them. The first battle facility was Thorton and the Battle Factory, which challenged a trainer's ability to think ahead. Then there was Argenta and the Battle Hall which challenged a trainer's knowledge of Pokémon, it was there that Dawn and I made complete fools of ourselves on live television, luckily, nobody seemed to remember when the Grand Festival came around. After that was the Battle Palace, which was run by Darach and Lady Caitlin, they fought double battles and forced trainers to work in sync. Then he challenged the Battle Arcade, which had been hidden underwater in the Lake of Rage. Ash and I battled together against Dahlia and Misty, who were constantly having different effects occur on the field using a program. In Blackthorn City we met Palmer and challenged the Battle Tower, where Ash lost his first battle, but managed to come back victorious on his second try. Finally we challenged Tobias and the Battle Kingdom, were Ash fought a full six on six battle with a bunch of legendary Pokémon.

Throughout our journey we collided with Team Rocket, who was planning something devious. We first bumped into them in the Ilex Forest, They took Dawn and me to their base hidden in the forest, and they revealed their plans to catch Rayquaza in order to get Mewtwo. Luckily we were quickly saved by Ash and Gary, but Ash had to give up his Master Ball to save us, which Dawn had given to him for his birthday. When Rayquaza was enraged and attacked Olivine City, we managed to get the Master Ball back. After they lost the Master Ball, Team Rocket attempted to catch the three legendary beasts, whose combined power would be enough to catch Mewtwo.

After they tried and failed to catch Entei, the fire type grew angry and attacked us, but Rayquaza came to our aid in the nick of time, saving our skin. When we reached the Lake of Rage and met up with Misty, Team Rocket attempted to catch Suicune, another legendary beast, this time succeeding. When we reached Blackthorn City, we spotted Entei watching over the city, and heard from Meowth that there was a secret Team Rocket base nearby. And Ash said Team Rocket caught Entei during a contest. After Ash's battle with Palmer, Team Rocket attacked the city, and the Battle Tower toppled to the ground.

Palmer saved us and we found out that Team Rocket was attacking Blackthorn City attempting to catch Mewtwo. Rayquaza, who had been following us, quickly tried to intervene. Dawn ended up running into Mewtwo and Ash ended up dying. We brought him to Mewtwo, who claimed he could revive Ash. After defending the building we were hiding in for a while, Mewtwo indeed brought Ash back. Ash claimed that in order to stop an evil force Team Rocket was going to create; he would have to catch an equally powerful force to stop them. Team Rocket eventually got Mewtwo, and turned Rayquaza against us, using the power of the legendary beasts, who had all been captured.

We rushed into the main flying mother ship that held the beast and snuck on, using stealth, we freed the three beasts and escaped. Ash then caught the evil Rayquaza with his Master Ball, turning him back to normal. With Rayquaza's help, we stopped Mewtwo, and defeated Team Rocket once and for all.

My rivalry with Dawn started off pretty bad; we pulled horrible pranks on each other, all because we both wanted to have Ash to ourselves. At times I felt Ash was against me, choosing to team up with Dawn rather than me in Ecruteak City. While we were in the Battle Arcade, Dawn saved me from drowning in a flooding underwater tunnel. We set our differences aside and became friends, even teaming up in a double battle contest. That friendship came to a screeching halt when the final contest was announced. Dawn and I only had four ribbons, each needing five, and unfortunately, only one of us could win the final contest. Dawn ended up beating me in that contest because Pikachu had accidentally hurt my heel. Luckily, Ash gave me the ribbon he had won with Dawn back in Ecruteak City. We then proceeded to the Grand Festival, and Dawn and I were friends once again. After lots of hard battles, I finally defeated Dawn, who had managed to beat me two times before.

_So much happened on this journey_, I thought, _even though Dawn and I were rivals in the beginning, the trip was way better than the first time I went through Johto_.

I began to think about my friends. _Drew_, we had bumped into him during our travels, he wanted some advice about girls, which surprised me. _I wonder how things are between him and that Lyra girl are going_, I thought.

Misty had also been someone we had run into, she had talked about a special someone aside from Ash. _Who was she talking about? _I wondered. I'd probably find out someday, but that wasn't really a concern right now.

Gary, that young boy Ash used to be rivals with, had helped us as well. He seemed to be pretty nice, but from what I could tell from some of Ash's stories, Gary used to be a real jerk, but then again, the same thing went for Paul.

And then of course there was Barry, who loved to run. He and I kind of got off to a bumpy start, but after he saved me from Pikachu's electric attacks, we became friends.

After a little while, Paul joined us in our travels through Johto. He was really different from most trainers, he knew so much about Pokémon and was such a serious battler. He had helped Dawn come up with strategies for contests, most which were astounding and left me baffled. He was definitely an amazing battler, but he seemed a bit cold. That is, of course, before he and Dawn got together.

Dawn on the other hand was there since the beginning. She made the first half of the trip through Johto miserable for me, and I was determined to make it miserable for her. In the end, our rivalry got us nothing but disapproval and embarrassment. I'm surprised Ash never ditched us out of frustration; he forgave us so many times for our mistakes. But times change, several weeks ago I wanted to strangle Dawn, but now she and I were great friends.

And then there was Ash, that dense boy I fell in love with so long ago, just seeing his face made me smile. His compassion, his selflessness, his determination, and his bravery were all incredible traits he had. It was no wonder Dawn, Misty, and I had fallen for him. He was always there to help me and encourage me, and he couldn't stay mad, no matter what stupid thing Dawn or I did, he quickly forgave us.

I smiled to myself, and to think I was the one to win his heart. I held onto him tightly and snuggled closer to him. Upon my movement, Ash reached backward and scratched the top of my head.

_I'm one lucky girl_, I thought, _one lucky girl_.

Rayquaza let out a growl of annoyance.

"Gengar!" Ash shouted, "Get your foot out of Rayquaza's eye!"

I couldn't help but laugh. Ash, along with his Pokémon had become like a part of my family. Pikachu, Lucario, Gengar, even Totodile and Gible had all grown on me. Knowing I would most likely spend the rest of my life with them made me smile, and I looked forward to the adventures we would share... _Where ever that may be._

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><p><em><span>The End... Maybe.<span>_

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><p><strong>And that.<strong>

**Is.**

**That.**

**I never realized the complexity of this story until I tried to outline it all. But then again, this whole thing was 200k words, so I guess it has to be pretty complex. But alas, it is finally over, the Fiercer Than a Legendary project has been completed.**

**So I figured I would direct you all towards some other awesome advanceshipping fanfictions by some really great authors. If you liked this, then you will probably like their stuff.**

_**Pokémon: League of Ultimates by PichuAuraGuardian18**_

**I would be surprised if you haven't already read this, because this fic definitely has picked up a lot of readers. This fiction has enough romance to satisfy all your advanceshipping needs, and introduces a new character, Gavin, who is Ash somewhat mysterious cousin. It's worth checking out, be sure to if you haven't yet.**

_**Betrayed Champion by itssupereffective**_

**An interesting story that shows the darker side of Ash. For all the Drew haters out there, this is the fic for you. Another story worth checking out.**

_**Return With Avengeance Beastmode953**_

**Basically, just check out beastmode953 in general, all of his stuff is awesome. Like me, he wants to write things that have never been done before, and he has definitely done that in a lot of the stuff he writes.**

_**Seeing is Believing by Yin-Yang Yo-Yo**_

**This story definitely has some stuff that I have never seen before. For people who love advanceshipping, hate Drew, and like seeing Pokémon ships. He really gives everyone's Pokémon a lot of character, it's pretty interesting.**

_**Strange Clouds by Black-Ace01**_

**This story is literally a dream come true. Zombie Land meets Advanceshipping, it's so awesome. It had all the guns and zombies a guy could ask for, and twists itself to perfection with advanceshipping.**

_**The Legendary Catcher by TheRebelx3**_

**If you liked FTaL, there is a 99.99% chance you'll like this story. A great May and Dawn rivalry fic, with an epic twist. Check out this story, it's really cool.**

**_Hoenn Again by Ghost of the Dragon_ (Or something, he changes his name all the time :P)**

**Gosh darn it man, update this fiction! I've been waiting since I started writing this story. It's a great story, but he hasn't updated for a long time, everyone spam his inbox so he'll update it. (u mad, bro?)**

**And then of course, I'm not done on fanfiction yet. I'll go ahead and tell you what's going on. Since the beginning of January, I've been developing an idea for another big story I'll be write in about a month or so. But about half way through Fiercer Than a Legendary, I got writer's block, and so I started writing another advanceshipping fanfiction. The writer's block went away, but I continued to write this fanfiction. 25000 words later, the mystery fiction ended, but I had an idea for another fic I wanted to write. I began to work on that as well as FTaL. It got to the point were I had written three shorter advanceshipping fictions, I'm currently working on the final chapter of the fourth one.**

**When I complete the forth fiction, I will reread each one and correct the mistakes (The whole thing is about 100,000 words). When that's all done, I'll post these to fanfiction everyday for about three weeks. After that I'll start working on my next big fanfiction.**

**So look forward to that, and keep reading!**

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><p><em><strong>The Shiny Gengar<strong>_


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